


Destruct

by pandamonium



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, F/F, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-19
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-02-21 11:58:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 105,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2467499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandamonium/pseuds/pandamonium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Don't waste your time wondering if we could have been happy," Kuvira said.<br/>"I won't," Opal replied. "I already know the answer."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I've tagged content/triggers as needed. If any chapter begins with the "see the end of the chapter for notes" text, I'll have listed content warnings there.  
> A summary of the content to watch out for in this story: alcohol, drugs (mention), food/eating, kissing, sex, blood, violence, asphyxiation/strangulation, knife, mentions of genocide, scars (not self harm), and there are drawings which include images of body types and romantic intimacy. If anyone needs any clarification on what these warnings entail (please no questions on why I warn for triggers/content), or if anyone thinks I should warn for content that I haven't - please feel free to comment or message me.  
> Hope you enjoy!

**174 AG**

Opal and Kai headed back to their rooms mostly in silence. A family on the outskirts of town had two empty beds and Opal and Kai had been staying there. By the time the airbenders returned the sky above their heads had darkened to night and the house smelled like the food that the family hadn't had before the Great Uniter came to their town. There was still food left over but Opal didn't feel like eating. She thanked the owners and wished Kai goodnight before walking into her bedroom.

As she shut the door behind her, she caught one last glimpse of the family she was staying with. Dinner was long over, but they were still gathered around the kitchen table, laughing and smiling with a lightness the Air Nomads had failed to bring to them. Opal was glad that the town was safe from bandits, that the people were fed, but she couldn't help but worry about the methods used to achieve this peace. She fell onto the bed and wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the ceiling as it flickered in the candlelight.

She'd seen how hostile the Governor had been towards the Earth Kingdom's army, she didn't understand how he could change his mind so quickly. She'd seen fear and pride in the older man. While he was desperate for aid she had doubted he would bend to the Earth Kingdom's military. There were other factors at play here and Opal couldn't figure out what they were. The Governer seemed ashamed but stubborn; he wouldn't give her any answers.

It didn't matter, really. Opal and Kai would leave soon, their job here . . . had been nullified. Bolin had talked about a puzzle-styled map of the Earth Kingdom in one of his many letters to Opal. The State of Yi was just another piece fitting into the map. Opal wanted to believe in what the army was doing. Kai had looked at her dubiously when she'd told him this as they'd walked back to their temporary home.

_"Are you sure?"_ he'd asked, frowning. " _You seem pretty . . . hostile towards the whole thing. I've actually never seen you so upset. It's not like they're doing anything bad, they're just helping people."_ Opal had still felt a little angry with him for convincing the governor to sign the treaty, but she bit down her feelings because she knew that she probably would've eventually convinced the governor to sign as well. She didn't trust the army, but she also couldn't compete with it.

_"So far,"_ had been her response. Still, she wanted to believe that it was all justified. It had been so nice to see Bolin again, to hold him after . . . after such a long time that she'd lost track. He'd looked happy working with the army, proud. She wanted her boyfriend to be on the right side. She knew Bolin enjoyed helping people as much as she did and he _was_  helping. He wasn't helping everyone he could, like the Air Nomads were, but at least when he tried he actually suceeded.

The Air Nomads on the other hand were still few and far between; new airbenders were still being discovered and all of them were still learning how to bend and do their jobs. Armies had drills but the Air Nomads had no such luxury. Not to mention that there were more problems than there were Air Nomads to solve them. The Air Nomads were still trying their best but it was undeniable that the Earth Kingdom's army had more resources.

And Bolin was confident in what he was doing; Opal had seen his smile as he'd handed out food to the people of Yi. He'd wrote to her multiple times on how much he loved his job. He was good at it, he was helping people, and his old neighbourhood had prospered from his involvement with the army and its commander.

Opal had a sneaking suspicion that if she made him choose between his job and his girlfriend . . . he wouldn't choose her. She couldn't blame him for that, it just meant that he believed in his people and his cause as much as she believed in hers. Still, even with Bolin's assurance, Opal couldn't help but doubt the army. She had already seen one family torn apart by the 'Great Uniter'.

On their travels together, Kai and Opal had grown to become close friends. He eventually had detailed his experience with the Earth Queen to her. He hadn't grown up in Ba Sing Se but he'd felt the far-reaching effects of the Queen's greed and neglect that Opal, who had lived in Zaofu her whole life, hadn't ever considered. When Kai had gone to Ba Sing Se with the Avatar he'd been kidnapped by a secret police force and been recruited against his will into an army composed of the new airbenders.

He'd been forced to live underground, training to fight in what was called the 'First Airbending Regimen' and he likely still would have been there if the Avatar hadn't freed him. Opal had a very opinionated mother that made sure Opal knew how brutal the Earth Queen had been. Kai's experience with the Queen only made her more irredeemable to Opal but her death had launched the nation into even more chaos.

The Kingdom had been badly broken by the revolt. Food was scarce and the only useful transport system, the train, had had to be rebuilt and was now controlled by the Kingdom. Opal had been sure that no one could be worse than the Earth Queen, and felt that at least the total anarchy that the revolution had caused wasn't so cold and systematic. People were violent and greedy but they could be fought without having to destroy entire countries.

But then again, Opal hadn't done the best job in fighting the bad guys. In their numbers, the best the Nomads could hope for was little victories. In the beginning they'd helped enough to be liked and respected across the kingdom, but recently things were changing. Opal and Kai would fly to towns to find their job already done, banners proudly flying, missing Bolin by mere days. The inevitable military presence, which Opal knew was put in place to protect the people in the towns they visited, alarmed her. The kingdom didn't look united, it looked conquered.

No one else but she and the Governor seemed to feel that way, and even he had changed his mind. When she saw the Army's symbol, something that reminded her unbearably of Zaofu, rise above the state she didn't just feel disappointed for having failed the people there. She felt helpless. She felt scared. The situation was becoming one where only the army could help people, and she knew that that had never been the purpose of armies.

Bolin had left before the sunset and they hadn't even said goodbye. Opal had avoided him, but she wondered if they'd have said goodbye if she hadn't. She couldn't know. There was a chance that they'd said goodbye the other day when she'd yelled at him to leave if he was going to leave. He had left, after all, and while Opal had mostly been lashing out at him she was worried that him leaving would have consequences later on.

All the same, on a sneaking, selfish level, she was glad he was gone. She didn't want to talk to him. She knew he'd noticed the tension between her and Kuvira and wanted to ask her about it. The two of them hadn't really talked much about her life in Zaofu. Honestly, there wasn't much to talk about, he would've loved to listen but whenever the conversation steered to their pasts he always had something more interesting to say. Opal was the daughter of Zaofu's matriarch and never wanted to waste time talking about such a privileged life.

Besides, Opal and Bolin had always been more interested in the future then the past. A future they would share with each other. Or . . . they had thought that they'd share a future. That idea was becoming more obscure in her mind. It was just the distance, she knew that. They both knew beforehand that long distance relationships weren't easy and agreed to work on it but . . . it had been over two years. Maybe making it that long had been a success in itself, but thinking about it now she saw a flaw in their plan.

She was . . . an Air Nomad. She was an Air Nomad now, she and others just like her were travelling the world, trying to fix injustices. Opal suspected that Kai and Jinora would travel with each other when they were older, and she'd heard Kai talking to Jinora's projection the other day. But Bolin, would he ever actually have a place in her life if she stayed an air nomad? Would she have a place in his?

Tenzin had travelled a lot, and his lovely wife Pema didn't mind staying at home and taking care of their children. Would that be a kind of life Bolin would be interested in? Opal flushed. She was too young to be thinking about children, she wasn't even sure that she wanted any. But it wasn't as though she couldn't imagine it happening some day. Bolin would make a great father and Opal, no, it was ridiculous to think like this. Bolin dreamt of domesticity, but he also craved adventure, he'd never be still and she couldn't blame him for that. Even now, Bolin was traveling. He was travelling with Kuvira.

Laying on her bed her thoughts had kept circling back to the older woman, stopping just shy of actually thinking about her. Alone with her thoughts, Opal couldn't escape her forever. Kuvira, the Great Uniter. She was to be . . . Opal's sister-in-law? Opal sat up on the bed and undid her Air Nomad uniform, getting ready for sleep. She'd known Kuvira back in Zaofu. Or, she'd thought she had. Kuvira was unrecognizable now.

It had been years since Opal had spoken to her properly. Kuvira had changed a lot since that time. But then, Opal thought she'd changed as well, hopefully for the better. She was happier, having a better sense of purpose. Kuvira seemed like she'd found her purpose as well, 'uniting' the Earth kingdom. But, she didn't seem happier. But then, they'd talked to each other for less than a minute, Opal could hardly judge from that.

At a glance, Kuvira seemed the same - enigmatic, serious, slightly amused at best. But now, she seemed more lethal. Her long braid wrapped in a bun, her sharp face made sharper with harsh expressions, Kuvira's entire presence was angular and authoritative. But she could make her voice smooth as ever, a gentle tone Opal had felt when she was younger was reserved only for her. She guessed Kuvira spoke to Opal's brother that way. If she did, Opal couldn't blame Baatar for following her.

But he wasn't just following her, he was marrying her. Baatar was marrying Kuvira." _You haven't h_ _eard?"_ Kuvira had asked, her voice light but her words were weighted. Thinking back on it Opal felt like Kuvira had been mocking her. _"Your brother and I are getting married."_ Opal's mind had blanked. Bolin tried, and failed, to diffuse the situation in the background. And suddenly Kuvira's hand was on Opal's shoulder. She hadn't touched her since . . . had Kuvira ever touched her like that?

Her mouth was in a gentle smile, not exactly sad but there was something else there. She seemed earnest, and her gaze on Opal felt soft. Opal refused to look at her, it felt too risky. _"I know things got heated with your family when Baatar and I left Zaofu,"_ Kuvira had murmured _. "But don't you think it's time to forgive, and forget?"_ And for a moment, with the feeling of Kuvira's warm hand on her shoulder, she'd wanted to.

The governer had interrupted them then, his voice coming snarling up from behind them. Opal and Kuvira had turned to look, and Kuvira's voice suddenly became very cold. Opal had looked after Kuvira, seeing someone she couldn't match up with the gentle, cajoling voice she'd heard seconds before. The Governer and Kuvira agreed to speak privately with each other. They did not come to an agreement but in the end he'd had no choice. He'd bowed to Kuvira and pledged his loyalty to her.

While she felt guilty for not succeeding in saving this town without anyone else's aid she felt even more confused about what had happened in those three years. She didn't understand why her brother had left Zaofu. She didn't know how Kuvira had risen from her position as guard captain in Zaofu to becoming the Earth Kingdom's interim president. She didn't know why Bolin was walking around with stiff, lifeless hair and speaking Kuvira's words. She didn't understand why, though they seemed to have the same cause, it felt like they were fighting against her. Without realizing it Opal had almost started crying. What had happened? Who had they all become?

These last three years, her mind had been darting around those questions. It was easier to do that when she there were hundreds of kilometres between her and the people she cared about. It wasn't so simple when she'd seen three of them in one day, and they all had turned away from her. When Opal finally fell asleep, tears sticking her hair to her cheeks, she dreamt about Zaofu. She wanted Bolin to be on the good side, but despite knowing better she wanted the same for Kuvira.


	2. Chapter Two

**169 AG**

When Opal first met Kuvira she was fourteen. Kuvira was around the age Opal was now, and just another guard in Zaofu. Opal tried her best to learn everyone's names so she could say hello, but it was easy not to notice a newcomer when the uniforms were identical and obscured everyone's faces. She might have seen Kuvira before, but she was unable to recall such an event even years later.

She had been sitting in front of the grand stage that her mother's dance recital was being held on. She sat strategically in the middle of the room where she had a good view but was far enough from the action to feel comfortable. From this distance she noticed an unfamiliar form dancing with her mother's troupe. Opal sat up higher in her seat and squinted, trying to get a better look.

"Her name is Kuvira," Aiwei spoke up from beside her. Opal looked at him, flushing. She must've really been staring. Suyin had succeeded in not only wrangling all her offspring into watching her dance recital, including Opal who had yet to miss a single performance, but she'd convince Aiwei and his partner to attend as well. "She's a guard," he explained.

"Oh," Opal said, glancing at the stranger again. Back then Kuvira wore her hair down her back in a long, thick braid, and even from a distance Opal had caught the mole beneath the woman's right eye. Opal normally didn't pay attention to faces of the dancers but this person always looked like she was biting back a grin. Everyone else had schooled expressions but Kuvira looked like she couldn't help but smile.

"Sorry, I've just . . . never seen her before," Opal explained.

"She's not a guard on the estate," Aiwei went on, content to relay all his knowledge. He watched the dancers with a slightly bored expression but he had come and they both knew Su appreciated it. "However, you probably have seen her around the city. It's just that people are rarely recognizable when they take their armour off." He was probably right.

Opal turned back to look at the stranger. She did seem vaguely familiar, and she had the right build for a guard. Not many of the dancers on her mother's troupe were guards, but a few were. Suyin taught some dance classes and held tryouts every few years or so. Kuvira was a little younger than the rest of the dancers, but not by much. Maybe it was the fact that she was new that made her seem different, less practiced but more passionate.

Opal leaned back in her seat and looked at her mother's advisor. He was watching the dance now with a little more interest. "When did she join?" Opal asked, if just to keep some conversation alive. Aiwei was kind of prickly, but she enjoyed talking with him when he did talk. "I haven't seen her around the estate."

"She's filling in for another dancer who injured her ankle," Aiwei explained. "And at this rate, she might replace her. She dances well." Opal looked at him with wide eyes, then back at Kuvira. The stranger moved like benders moved; she was in her element and she worked smoothly with everyone else. Her barely being able to stifle her smile made her even more enjoyable to watch.

"Yeah," Opal said, but she didn't really know anything about dancing. None of the Beifong kids could dance, much to Suyin's regret and not for a lack of trying. But even Opal could tell that Kuvira was an amazing dancer and that she pretty much stole the show. Opal had a feeling she would see Kuvira again if she knew anything about her mother.

When the recital finally concluded everyone applauded and the dancers bowed graciously. Suyin positively glowed with pride. Even though Opal couldn't care less about dancing this was why she'd always attend. Her mom's happiness was something that would make the whole show worth it even if Suyin somehow didn't always design something worth watching. Opal always loved the recitals.

A short-haired dancer tossed the newcomer a bottle of water and grinned at her. Seeing this, Suyin seemed to remember something. Stepping up to the front of the stage she smiled at her audience. "Thank you, everyone," she said. Wing and Wei hooted in the audience and Suyin laughed. When the smatterings of chuckled abated she spoke again. "Thank you, for being an amazing audience. Unfortunately, one of our dancers was injured. She's fine, and will always have a spot on our troupe. But, I would also like to thank our _new_ dancer, Kuvira, for stepping up and filling in for her. So, please, a round of applause."

Kuvira grinned, flushed and sweating under the spotlight. The dancer that had tossed her the bottle pulled at her arm laughing as everyone applauded. Opal clapped until her hands stung. Suyin thanked everyone again and they piled out of the theatre. Opal remembered how Kuvira's smile was still fresh in her mind as she left the theatre. Palms still tingling, she could remember hoping that she would see her again.

And she did.

Suyin's studio was on the opposite side of the estate from where Opal usually spent her time. The weather in Zaofu was nice almost all year round and Opal preferred reading outside. She rarely hung around the dance studio though so while she knew Kuvira was there she never sought her out. In fact, when she did meet Kuvira again, truly meeting her, she didn't recognize her at all.

Opal had been coming back from the kitchens and was rounding a corner when she caught sight of a strange face. It was unusual for there to be a new guard on the estate, so she looked at Kuvira in confusion and wondered why the stranger looked so familiar. While Opal had been staring at Kuvira, trying to remember her, she accidentally made eye contact with the guard.

"Do I have something on my face?" Kuvira asked in her deep, throaty voice. Opal realized at that moment who she was.

"Ah, no," Opal said, clasping her hands in front of her in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I was just wondering I knew you or not."

"I'm Kuvira," the guard said, smiling lightly.

"Oh, I know," Opal said. She blushed when she realized what she said. "I mean - I -"

"Suyin's advisor must have told you," Kuvira inferred. Opal blushed burned hotter. "It's fine; I know who you are." Kuvira would've been a pretty terrible guard if she didn't know who Opal was, so while the nonbender appreciated the sentiment it didn't really apply.

 "I - uh -" Opal fumbled, feeling too embarrassed to look Kuvira in the eye.

"I saw you in the audience once," Kuvira said, taking pity on Opal's awkwardness. "At one of the performances." Opal had seen Kuvira at other recitals as well, and suddenly felt worried that Kuvira had noticed her staring. Kuvira had noticed her.

"Yeah," Opal said, looking up again. She was surprised that Kuvira could pick her out of the crowd, Beifong or not. "I always go to my mother's recitals."

"Do you dance as well?" Kuvira asked, seeming interested.

"Oh," Opal mumbled, blushing viciously. "I'm not a dancer. None of us are. Dad says that mom kept all the talent for herself." She laughed awkwardly.

"Have you ever bothered being taught?" Kuvira asked. She was making conversation.

"No," Opal said, standing up straight. "Mom tried, when I was younger. It was - a mess."

"Maybe you just didn't find the right teacher," Kuvira suggested, smiling softly. Opal had always had the best teachers, and she still couldn't dance. She shrugged.

"You like dancing," she observed, still a little nervous.

Kuvira grinned. "That's a fair observation," she said. A little conspiratorially she murmured, "It's my favourite hobby, next to bending. It's similar to bending, actually. It's listening to your body and finding a rhythm. From there, you can only get better."

"I can't bend yet," Opal murmured, smoothing down her dress.

"Ah," Kuvira said, leaning back and looking regretful. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean . . ."

"Oh!" Opal said. "No, that's okay, you can talk about bending." She smiled at Kuvira. "But I, mean I guess I better let you get back to your duties anyway." She didn't want to bully Kuvira into talking to her but she was young and couldn't help but be greedy. "I didn't know you were a guard here."

"I started yesterday," Kuvira said. "To be honest, the reason Suyin brought me to work on her estate was mostly to cut down on commuting time to dance rehearsal." Opal laughed.

"I'll see you," she said, starting to move on. She wanted to stop talking to Kuvira before she said something wrong. So far, the dancer had been really nice.

"Goodbye, Opal," Kuvira said. Opal continued back to her room with the new knowledge that Kuvira was now an actual guard at the Beifong estate. Suyin had apparently grown to trust her the way she made sure she trusted all of the guards that worked directly for her. And Kuvira had been nice; friendly and funny and genuine, and this perfection intimidated Opal in the best possible way.

**174 AG**

Opal wondered now if it had been an act even back then. She knew, in her heart, that it hadn't been but Opal felt depressed and grim. Somewhere along the lines Opal had stirred from her dreams and was lying on the bed, not asleep but not awake. The sun was falling though the window and the warmth that hit her bare skin was hardly comforting.

Towards the end . . . before the Red Lotus had destroyed the Earth Kingdom . . . she and Kuvira had almost been friends. She'd looked up to the woman with a sort of pathetic pet-like admiration that made her ashamed now. She was ashamed that she didn't see who Kuvira was, but, thinking about it she couldn't really blame herself for that, or even Kuvira. Kuvira had seemed so genuine back then; she was a completely different person now and Opal felt like she'd lost someone.

Opal surveyed the noon light on the ceiling. She didn't normally sleep in so late. Sleeping too much made her feel groggy and useless, but she was already useless and the dead-mouthed depression that came with her grogginess felt almost justified. She heard some clattering in the kitchen outside her room, some low voices brushing against each other. She listened to the noises and pitied herself.

"Hey Opal!" Kai's voice was muffled behind the door. Opal snapped out of her thoughts and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah?" she mumbled, voice thick from sleep.

"Someone's here to see you," he said. He sounded tense.

"Who is it?" Opal asked, wrapping her blankets around herself. The door opened and Opal's heartbeat stuttered. Kuvira walked into the room.


	3. Chapter Three

**170 AG**

Peering through the window Opal could see the reflections of orange candlelight against the gloss of metal. She was sitting on a windowsill in a rarely traversed corridor on the estate. She'd crept away from the party and was effectively hiding from her mother. She had a book in her hands but felt too guilty to read it.

She couldn't really see the partygoers from this angle and height above the grounds, but she knew that  they had probably noticed her absence; it was her birthday after all. Opal didn't like parties that much. Every year she'd bear with it but this year, maybe with some sort of newfound fifteen-year-old rebelliousness, she'd decided to leave early. Her mother hadn't noticed yet.

What had made this birthday less than bearable then ones in the past was the fact that Suyin had invited several boys that Opal decidedly hadn't. It wasn't that her mother was trying to set her up with citizens she'd deemed worthy, but it wasn't as though she would protest if Opal turned out to like one of them. Her mother had circulated around the party, glowing as usual, every now and then stopping to look at her daughter with wide eyes while jerking her head at various boys Opal's age. It was kind of embarrassing, even though no one else really noticed. Beifongs weren't known for their subtly, at least amongst themselves. There wasn't any pressure on Opal to go along with it but it was still too much to deal with. She took a book and the easy way out.

Embarassment aside, what had forced Opal to flee was that her mother expected Opal to dance with the boys she'd invited. Dancing wouldn't have been a big deal, if Opal could actually dance. Opal couldn't dance to save her life. It wasn't that she was clumsy but she was too timid to properly move with another person. She was too afraid of dancing poorly to dance well, and since she didn't want to embarrass herself she avoided dancing altogether which _guaranteed_ that she wouldn't improve.

She was grateful when Wing accidentally bumped into and knocked over Huan's delicate yet disturbing sculpture, and she took the ensuing drama as her chance to slip away. Most of the guards had the night off for Opal's birthday and it worked in Opal's favour now. She crept off with relative ease since only a few people were still on duty. Even from up here she could hear the boisterous laughter of a few of the tipsier guards. It made her smile.

Still, she wondered if it was worth it. Her mother wouldn't bring it up but she'd probably sulk a little over breakfast. Whether she'd try to pull the same thing next year Opal really couldn't say for sure. They were all nice boys, kind of. They were all from Zaofu, not necessarily wealthy, not necessarily poor. All were talented and ambitious, and she'd seen them around and talked to most of them. But honestly, choosing between them and a good book? No contest.

Opal opened her novel and set it in her lap, creasing the pages flat and staring. She still felt kind of guilty. Her mother had probably noticed her absence by now and Opal could only hope that she hadn't made her worry. Sneaking away really hadn't been worth the trouble. Opal sighed out loud.

"So this is where you've been hiding," a voice, rich with a grin, spoke up from behind Opal. Opal turned around, fear squeezing her throat, but when she recognized the person walking towards her it let go.

"I'm not hiding," Opal mumbled, a little embarrassed. "I'm just . . . taking a break."

"Long break," Kuvira smirked a little. She was wearing her guard's uniform, but she'd taken off her helmet. It was dark in this corridor other than a small lamp Opal had lit up to keep her company. She didn't want to attract too much attention, but obviously it gave off enough light for Kuvira to find her. The reflection of flame in the lamp flickered in the guard's eyes.

"Are people looking for me?" Opal asked guiltily.

"Just me," Kuvira assured her. "Your mother just wanted me to check up on you and bring you back." Opal nodded. She felt a sudden rush of gratitude towards her mother because she knew that Suyin wouldn't try this again next year.

She meant well; she wanted Opal to find someone in Zaofu and Opal ideally wanted that as well but she'd probably read too many books. They left her longing for something big. She didn't need to leave home to have an adventure but she at least wanted the adventure of falling in love. Regardless of her intentions, her mother's interference would just spoil any potential for honest romance. Judging by her reaction tonight Suyin had realized this. She still wanted Opal to come back to the party though, which was completely understandable and fair but Opal didn't want to go back just yet. Kuvira seemed to notice this.

"Nice spot," the metalbender began conversationally. Opal nodded meekly, taking it as permission to stay awhile. Kuvira claimed the seat across from the window, propping her legs up on the sill next to where Opal was sitting. She rested her helmet in her lap and turned her head to look idly out the window into the night.

Kuvira seemed to be one of the few guards that hadn't been given a night off. In the time between meeting Kuvira and Opal's birthday Kuvira had gotten higher and higher prestige in the Beifong household. Kuvira was still a dancer on Suyin's troupe, getting more polished by the day. Between being a guard and rehearsing dancing, she and Opal had run into each other more often.

Opal tried to be friendly with all the guards but she wanted something more with Kuvira. She didn't seek Kuvira out or anything, but she had to admit she didn't avoid her and she felt like they'd actually built . . . something. That something being the fact that Opal enjoyed running into Kuvira and Kuvira didn't seem annoyed by it.

Opal liked herself and who she was becoming, but she also really looked up to Kuvira and Kuvira was a lot of things Opal was not. Kuvira was down-to-earth but also impossibly refined and talented. Opal couldn't help but admire her.

If there was one trait that allowed you to flourish in Zaofu it was the determination to improve for the sake of yourself and Kuvira was no exception. Suyin trusted Kuvira enough to find her daughter on the estate, and Suyin prided herself on knowing her people. Realistically, Kuvira probably had flaws but Opal hadn't found any evidence so far.

"How old are you this year, Opal?" Kuvira asked, speaking up all of a sudden.

"I'm -" Opal's voice skipped. She tried again, making her voice stronger. "I'm, fifteen." She wavered on the last syllable and Kuvira chuckled.

"Any particular reason you left your fifteenth birthday party?" she asked.

"Ugh," Opal mumbled, putting her hands over her burning cheeks. "My mom wanted to me to dance with some boys."

"I was wondering why I hadn't seen so many new faces at the estate before," Kuvira mused.

"That would be why," Opal sighed.

"It can't be that bad," Kuvira said. "Some boys are nice." Opal must have made a weird face because Kuvira laughed. "It's true," she insisted. "They're rare, and you're rarely introduced to them by your mother, but they're out there."

"Yeah," Opal said, eyes wide. "Every single one of them. In the courtyard." Kuvira grinned. "I don't even _know_ most of them," Opal went on. "I've seen them around but . . . I don't even know some of their names. I mean, I can appreciate what my mom is doing but . . ." her voice trailed off. "I'm really an awful dancer."

"That's the problem?" Kuvira asked. Opal shrugged. "I could teach you," Kuvira offered. "I'm nowhere near as good as your mother, but I can dance pretty well." Opal knew that.

"Oh no," Opal said, cheeks burning. "You don't have to." Kuvira only got more insistent.

"I want to," she said. "No one learns better than the teacher, you'd be doing me a favour." Opal shook her head, almost chuckling. No way was she dancing in front of someone as cool as Kuvira, even if Kuvira actually wanted her to. "I'm sure you're not that bad."

"Oh," Opal said, choking. "I am that bad, believe me." She caught Kuvira's eye and said decidedly, "Anyway, I really don't feel like embarrassing myself in front of anyone on my birthday." Kuvira grinned.

"Suit yourself," she said. "Some other time?"

"No way," Opal said. "Maybe." Kuvira laughed.

In a more serious voice she said, "I'm sure that if the boys at the party passed your mother's inspection they wouldn't mind being turned down for a dance anyway. Maybe you can head down, make some new friends." Opal didn't want to say that she'd rather spend her time with Kuvira because she still wanted to sound like she was totally in control of her feelings here. It was obvious at least that she'd rather sit in the dark with a book then dance with some boys.

"This is the last book in a series," she shrugged, holding it up and pouting a little. Kuvira chuckled.

"Would you rather she invited girls for you to dance with?" she asked. Opal was sure she'd misheard her.

"You mean my friends?" Opal asked. To be completely honest Opal didn't have many friends of any gender, but she did have more female friends. Kuvira raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what?" she blurted after Kuvira didn't say anything. Kuvira only smiled at her and waited.

"I . . ." Opal hadn't even realized that it was an option. But it was a fair proposal and Opal sat back and thought about it for a moment. "No," she said at last. "Being with my friends is fine, but if there's going to be romance . . . I want to at least pretend that it was my own idea."

"Fair enough," Kuvira said. "But from what I've heard about love, it's never really your idea in the first place." Opal was a romantic even while she knew nothing about love itself. Kuvira seemed to be choosing her words in a way to dart around the topic as well.

"Have you ever been in love?" Opal asked. She regretted asking something so personal but while Kuvira seemed surprised she didn't look offended.

"Probably not," the guard said after a moment. "I'm probably not the best person to give you advice in this area." Kuvira's fringe fell over her eyes and she looked down at the floor, one arm slung around the chair's arm. The light given off by the lamp flickered on her serious face. The warm air pooled into the room and Opal could swear she felt a breeze.

She turned her gaze from the guard and looked out the window, down on the twinkling lights of the party. Opal liked Kuvira giving her advice but she didn't know how to say that. She heard laughter down below. The party went on as she and Kuvira sat in silence. "I still can't bend," she said in an almost inaudible voice.

Opal saw Kuvira look up in her peripheral vision. "There were rumours," she trailed off. People had suspected, just like Opal had, that she would never be able to bend. Opal had heard the rumours as well.

"I thought maybe when I turned fifteen I'd finally be able to," Opal said, opening her palms to the ceiling. "But it doesn't seem like it ever will."

Kuvira watched Opal for awhile then remarked shrewdly, "You don't seem too torn up about it."

Opal bit her lip. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to tell Kuvira. "Do you remember Amon? From Republic City."

"You mean Noatak, son of the crime lord Yakone?" Kuvira asked. Another rumour spreading around was that Kuvira was poised for the position of guard captain in Zaofu. Opal didn't doubt it.

"Yeah," she said. "I know Avatar Korra was against the Equalists but . . . I really thought the nonbenders were justified with what they were doing. I - I understand that benders have a - special bond with their ability, and Noatak shouldn't have taken it away from them, but it's not as though the benders in Republic City could handle not abusing their power over nonbenders."

"I know there's a nonbender president now," she sighed. "But having a nonbending leader doesn't sound like it would be enough to fix everything." Opal had never been hurt a day in her life but she knew from observation that when people could get power from hurting weaker people it was a tough drug to quit. "He's visited Zaofu a few times."

"I know," Kuvira said. "He seems like someone so pleased to find himself in his position that he'll forget to fight for those who aren't." Opal nodded, Kuvira had described her thoughts exactly. Opal respected him as a nonbender who against all odds had gotten elected by a bender-majority but she couldn't trust him. He seemed too polished to protect people when they needed protecting. You could be diplomatic in ways that went beyond official visits.

Opal self-consciously played with a metal bracelet and went on as Kuvira politely heard her out. "It's obvious that people who can't bend are at a disadvantage to people who can bend but . . . there's so much of an emphasis on the benefits of bending that people don't see the problems it can cause. I'm not saying I was ever hurt like the people in Republic City were," Opal said, cheeks flushed. "But I guess . . . I'm glad I'm not a bender."

She glanced at Kuvira whose face was composed but alert, listening. "If I was a bender," Opal explained. "I wouldn't have cared about what was going on in Republic City. At the time people would be talking about how they should just put all the nonbenders in jail and then I'd walk into the room. They'd stop, but only because I'm Suyin Beifong's daughter. I'm glad I can't bend because if I could I would've been just like them."

She pressed her fingers to burning her cheeks and looked out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of the party beyond the lit orbs of light, determined not to look at Kuvira. She'd just wanted to read her book, she hadn't intended on ranting about bender-nonbender politics. The young woman remained unmoving in Opal's vision. "You wouldn't have been like them," Kuvira said, voice sounding sure. "You still would've cared, Opal. It's who you are."

Opal looked back at Kuvira who was watching her softly, gaze flickering in the candlelight. "Maybe it would've taken you longer, but you would've gotten there eventually." Her voice was gentle and her expression was almost sad. "Preferring understanding people's suffering over bending is something very noble. Something rare. You're a good person, Opal."

Opal looked down at her lap. "Thanks," she murmured. She could hardly breathe.

Kuvira looked thoughtfully up at Opal, setting her legs on the floor and leaning forward. "Did you get any gifts you liked tonight?" Opal was grateful for the lighter topic.

"I didn't look at them yet," Opal said. "I'll probably like them all."

"What kind of gift would you really like?" Kuvira asked playfully, ushering the conversation along in lighter direction. Opal was thankful.

"I don't really need anything," she replied.

"None of us really need anything in Zaofu," Kuvira coaxed. "So come on. What would you like?" Opal smiled.

"Honestly?" she asked. Kuvira nodded. "I'd like to go out of Zaofu for awhile," she shrugged. It was a bit of a boring wish but it was the truth. "It's tradition in my family to go on a hike a couple of times a year, but no one wants to hike out with me otherwise. They wouldn't let me hike alone and I'd feel guilty to make a guard come with me."

"You want to go hiking?" Kuvira asked.

"It's the only time I've ever been outside Zaofu," she said. "I'm just . . . curious. I want to know what it's like out there. I don't need to go to another city but I'd like to explore a little. I can see why they wouldn't let me go alone though. Since I really can't bend, I really am . . ." Opal swallowed and didn't finish her own sentence.

Kuvira seemed dissatisfied that Opal was getting distracted and sad with her own vulnerability. "I'll take you out of Zaofu sometime," she said. "How's that?" Opal felt kind of awkwardly happy and grinned in response. Kuvira got to her feet, stretching a little. "Want to head back to the party?" she asked, eyes soft on Opal.

"Alright," Opal said. She forgot the book on the windowsill when she left to rejoin the party. No one but Suyin and perhaps Aiwei had noticed her absence. Kuvira patrolled the grounds and Opal danced, badly, with a friend on Suyin's troupe. The next morning Opal's book had been returned to her, resting on her pillow. Opal finished it in one sitting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: alcohol/drugs/food implied


	4. Chapter Four

**174 AG**

"I couldn't just leave with you still angry with me," Kuvira said, pacing into Opal's bedroom. Opal was only wearing her undershirt and a blanket but Kuvira didn't look. Instead she walked over to the window and opened it, almost like she was putting her own personal touch on something that had been Opal's for the past few days.

"We're going to be family soon," Kuvira said, turning her head to look at the airbender. Her dark green eyes caught the light and Opal had to glance away, tugging the blanket closer around her. She was still wearing her undershirt but even with that and the blanket Opal felt naked. "So I want us to be on at least civil terms when Baatar and I marry."

This was all too invasive and sterilized. Opal hated it, but she didn't let it show. "I'm not angry with you," she said, getting off the bed, her blanket sliding to drape around her waist. "I don't trust you. There's a difference."

Kuvira looked at her. "I don't think in this case there is any." Opal flushed.

"Turn around," she barked, holding up her Air Nomad bodysuit. Kuvira turned around, crossing her arms behind her back so each hand clasped on her opposite elbow. Opal's sleepy self-pity was boiling into righteous anger that woke her up and made her anxious and sick.

And yes, she was angry. Kuvira, and probably anyone, could see that easily. Opal couldn't help it. She hid her shaking hands as she stepped into her suit and zipped it up. Kuvira was right. Opal was pissed that she couldn't trust whoever the hell this was. She wasn't mad for the sake of being mad and her anger didn't mean her distrust was inauthentic or unjustified.

"Where's Bolin," she asked, trying to keep her voice controlled but it just came off edgy.

Kuvira sighed. "He and Baatar are travelling to the next town to replenish supplies. I came here with my own train car. I won't stay long, but I'd like to talk." She frowned. "If that's alright," she added with a softer voice.

Opal looked at her, and sat on the bed, resting her elbows on her knees. "I guess," she said, but she didn't speak any more. She fiddled with her hair self-consciously as she waited for Kuvira to speak.

"It's been a long three years," Kuvira began. "A lot has changed."

"I'll say," Opal snorted.

"Opal, please," Kuvira said. Glancing up at the taller woman Opal saw that Kuvira looked genuinely distressed. Kuvira didn't speak for awhile, instead she slid off her gloves and placed them in a pocket on her uniform. When Opal finally began to look away Kuvira chose to start speaking.

"When I left Zaofu I was angry," she confessed. "I was angry at your mother. I guess I still am. This job, uniting the people in our land, it shouldn't have been mine. She almost single-handedly created Zaofu, a city where every single citizen can do more than just survive, but can attain their greatest potential. When the monarchy fell I was, and so many other people were, convinced that your mother would step up and lead us."

"She didn't want to seize power, like you did," Opal said, getting to her feet, prepared to fight for her mother. Kuvira didn't go on the defensive.

"I'm only the interim president until Prince Wu comes of age," Kuvira reminded her. "Which isn't that long now." Opal's face made it clear that she wasn't buying everything Kuvira was selling. Kuvira went on, "Besides, assuming I did seize power, if it wasn't me someone else would have. And their goals would not have been as benevolent as mine are."

Opal knew that someone else would've seized power but Kuvira was being deliberately vague underneath her inspiring rhetoric. "What are your goals?" she asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"I want all of us to be united," Kuvira said softly, walking over to Opal and keeping eye contact with her. "All of us. I want to give every Earth citizen the opportunities you and I had. I can't do that right now, just as the Air Nomads can't help every single person right now. All we can do at the moment is make sure that our people are safe and fed, but eventually I plan to do better than that."

"And I know it may not seem like it," she went on. "But I need your help for this. The next few months are going to be like nothing we've ever dealt with before. Other countries and nations, people who did nothing to help this country in the years after the revolution, will want to interfere with the Earth Nation. These people could damage us just as surely as the Earth Queen did."

"Are you asking me to pledge my loyalty?" Opal asked through gritted teeth.

"No, Opal," Kuvira said. "I'm asking you, for these next few months, to really think what you want for this country. Even if you're an Air Nomad now, it should be just as important to you that things here are stable so that we all can _live_ , instead of just survive."

"And I want," Kuvira said. "I do, really, want you on my side. I know you believe, like your mother, that I seized power for selfish reasons. All I want is to give our people security and progress, if they didn't want me to do it I wouldn't be here right now."

"I don't think they have as much of a choice as you say they do," Opal said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I heard you're putting your dissenters in prison camps." Kuvira's jaw dropped in shock.

"Opal!" she said, eyes flashing with hurt. "Those rumours aren't true! I know a lot has changed in the three years we didn't see each other but they haven't changed _that_ much." Opal felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't seen any evidence of prison camps after all, maybe Kai was right and Opal was overreacting.

It didn't matter. Kuvira had placed her hands on either side of Opal's body, coaxing her attention back to the metalbender. "Listen, in the end - I want what you want. We have to make sure that, despite whatever happens next, we fight for our people. The way I came into power may have been unorthodox, and I didn't believe I was the best person to do it at the time, but I made it my job, my duty, to fight for the needs of the people. I want to go beyond those needs some day."

Her hands squeezed Opal's upper arms reassuringly. Opal didn't know if she'd ever seen Kuvira not wearing some type of glove, or bandage binding. Her palms were soft and warm on the fabric of Opal's suit. Her eyes were bright and focused on Opal. Opal suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia, the same feeling she'd fought back when she and Kuvira had seen each other again.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Opal asked, voice wavering dubiously.

"Yes," Kuvira said, softly but insistently. "Absolutely. I know Suyin, and the Air Nomads, have their own biases just like I do. I blamed Suyin for not assuming a position she didn't want, and her son left her to follow me. There isn't an airbender in my army, that I know of, so I'm sure you've heard more rumours than facts. I'm just glad you gave me this chance to explain myself." Opal nodded at Kuvira, looking her in the eye.

"And Opal, the other reason why I came." Kuvira smiled at her, body relaxed now. "The wedding - I'd love for you to attend." Oh, that was right. Kuvira was engaged to Baatar.

"Of course I'd come to Baatar's wedding," Opal said, her voice punched out of her. Kuvira took no notice. She put her hand on Opal's cheek and smiled at her, the smooth, uncalloused skin burning Opal's cheeks. In the pit of her stomach Opal felt disappointment grow like a retch. Kuvira had never touched her like this, so warmly and so calculatedly.

"Thank you, Opal," Kuvira said, face softening with sincerity.

"You're manipulating me," Opal realized out loud, trying to remind herself more than anything. Kuvira smudged her thumb across Opal's cheek, and Opal could feel a blush burning wherever she touched. Opal's legs felt like they would give out. Kuvira's expression was still soft, her eyes darting across Opal's face like she was memorizing it.

"No, Opal, I really do want you to come," she said with her gravelly voice. She moved closer to Opal, her free hand landing lightly on Opal's hip, barely touching her. She waited until Opal would look her in the eye and then smiled a little, eyes wide and earnest, but entirely too calm. Kuvira was imitating herself so perfectly that Opal wanted to sob.

"You're manipulating my brother," she said fiercely, ripping Kuvira's hand from her cheek and gritting her teeth. "You're manipulating my family, my kingdom, you're manipulating my boyfriend." Kuvira's face soured, and she stepped back from Opal. Opal almost stumbled but caught herself; she looked after Kuvira in desperation.

"Believe what you want," Kuvira said, breaking character. Her tone was venomous. "I'm doing what I think is best for the kingdom, we all are. And don't tell me you believe that the Earth Kingdom is your kingdom." Opal gaped at her Kuvira turned around, almost smirking at her silence.

Kuvira suddenly changed pace, haughtiness turning into anger. "I wish you and the other Air Nomads well - patching bandages on a gaping wound, but I'm performing surgery. I don't have time for silly games; I don't have time for manipulation. So believe what you want, Opal."

Then she broke off, her voice softer, regretful. "I only wish you would find it in you to forgive me, for whatever wrong I committed." She turned to go. Opal knew enough to see that wasn't how you asked for an apology. Kuvira's soft words had confused Opal, and her about-turn gave her whiplash but she wasn't about to back down.

"I still don't trust you," she spat after Kuvira. "I don't trust who you are. I don't know if I never knew exactly who you were but now I _know_ I have no idea."

Kuvira whirled around, furious and frustrated, "Then why do you assume the worst of me? Do you have any evidence that I'm doing anything wrong? I'm uniting the kingdom; I'm bringing people food, and protection -"

"Only when they pledge their loyalty to you!" Opal yelled.

"We don't have the resources to give supplies to anyone but our people," Kuvira responded, a practiced lie.

"Why are you saying 'we'?" Opal said. Kuvira's mouth opened, then shut. "When you get people to pledge their loyalty - they don't pledge their loyalty to the Earth Kingdom. They don't pledge their loyalty to Prince Wu. They pledge their loyalty to _you."_

"I'm the interim president," Kuvira said, attempting to recover herself.

"Don't," Opal said, and to her dismay her voice broke. Kuvira's mouth closed and she watched Opal, who was struggling to hold back tears. Opal took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice steady, though her hands were trembling. "I didn't know you before, if you always were who you are now. But I - I don't think you ever lied to me."

Kuvira's expression changed. It was soft, but not schooled. She walked up to Opal again, hands behind her back. "What do you want to know?" she asked in a breath of defeat. She stood in Opal's bedroom, looking her in the eye, simply waiting for her response.

"I want to know," Opal said, and the whole world rested on her tongue. She knew for that moment, she could ask Kuvira anything and get the right answer. "I want to know," she said again. "Do you love my brother? Are you in love?"

Kuvira blinked. She hadn't expected that question either. Kuvira stood up straight and seemed to think for a moment. The fact that thinking was required already gave Opal the answer, but she couldn't help but hold her breath.

At last Kuvira looked back at Opal. "I'm not in love with Baatar," she said. Opal's legs knocked together.

"But you're marrying him," Opal said numbly. "He loves you, why else would he . . . " she couldn't go on.

"Perhaps he does love me," Kuvira conceded. "He knows that those feelings aren't reciprocated. He understands, at least."

"Understands what?" Opal said, her eyes were wet with angry tears. "Why would he stay with someone who doesn't love him back?"

Kuvira smiled a little then, the unfamiliar edge of her that Opal hated coming back. "He loves this country," she said. "Just like I do. He wants to take care of it, not just so that the kingdom can survive, but so that it can grow. That's the philosophy we grew up on in Zaofu. Your own mother, even though I'm sure she hates me now, was the person who instilled that value so strongly in me, _and_ your brother."

Kuvira frowned then. "Your mother resents the fact that he left Zaofu, leaving engineering behind. She saw it as a betrayal. But Baatar has progressed beyond architecture schematics. As much as I love Zaofu, and no matter how much I owe to it, the Earth Kingdom takes precedence. The nation couldn't just right itself. Riots in the streets, thievery, chaos. I couldn't ignore that, and neither could Baatar."

"I didn't ignore that!" Opal broke out. "The Air Nomads didn't! And we never needed to force anyone join us before we would help them!"

Kuvira's voice softened, making Opal feel ridiculous for yelling, "And perhaps you could have done something, if there weren't so few of you. But I'm the only one who can pull all these states together. And if we're not united we'll never survive, much less grow. I really do want what you want, Opal." Opal stiffened when Kuvira murmured her name. "We might have different ways of going about it, and you might be angry that Baatar left, but he's a grown man and he has that right."

"Our end goals are the safety and comfort of as many people as we can help," Kuvira said. "And I want to thank you and Kai for convincing the Governor to join us. We should be working together, the big picture is much more important than whatever happened in the past."

Opal felt like Kuvira was trying too hard to move on from the topic. She'd just admitted that she wasn't in love with Baatar, and had come no closer to explaining why Baatar had made the decisions that he had. Some of the stuff she said had made sense, but other things felt like lies. Opal guessed that Kuvira's moment of honesty had been real, but temporary.

Opal had been given one question to ask and Kuvira had answered it. All the rest were evasions at best. Kuvira was standing in Opal's bedroom, the first soft bed Opal had slept on in months, just looking at her and willing her to surrender. Opal wanted more questions answered, she'd only been granted one and she'd wasted it.

Kuvira had grown somewhat impatient in Opal's silence. "Are you happy, now?" she asked, hovering there, almost exasperated. Opal glanced up at Kuvira, meeting her gaze willingly for the first time in a long time. So much had been said, but none of it had gotten Opal closer to any answers. She felt sick.

"Of course not," Opal said. "But it doesn't matter." Kuvira's face twitched.

"Right," she said.

Opal's legs gave out as she sat down on the bed. "Do you still want me to attend the wedding?" she asked, almost spitefully.

"I'm sorry for wasting your time, Opal," Kuvira said, fishing her gloves out of her pockets. She shut the door on the way out far too gently. Opal felt like she should cry, but she didn't. She and Kai spent the rest of the morning saying their thanks and goodbyes, and left Yi not long after Kuvira did.


	5. Chapter Five

**174 AG**

"So," Kai said awkwardly. "You and Kuvira." An innocent enough statement; Opal's fingers tightened around Lefty's reins. "What happened there?" he asked.

In all honesty, Opal had been thinking about little else for the past few days. She hadn't been coming up with a lot of answers and that was largely due to the fact that she didn't really want to think about Kuvira and their relationship. She also didn't really want to talk about it but there was nothing else to do during her and Kai's long trek back to Air Temple Island. She bit her lip.

"So you know how Kuvira was the captain of the city's guard back in Zaofu," she said. Kai nodded. "My mother has a dance troupe back in Zaofu, and when Kuvira was around my age, she joined that troupe. She became a guard on our estate, and she eventually became the captain. I knew her from seeing her around the city and the estate. I never would've guessed that any of this would happen."

"When the Earth Kingdom fell," Opal went on. "Everyone wanted my mom to take charge, to unify the Earth Kingdom. So did Kuvira. My mom refused and Kuvira just . . . something changed. She and my brother started plotting, and eventually they left Zaofu. I was with the Air Nomads when this all was happening," she explained. "So I don't know the exact details but this is what my brothers told me."

Kai listened to her carefully even though Opal was probably saying stuff he already knew. "Kuvira successfully gained control of Ba Sing Se and well, the rest is history," she concluded. "I don't know why she's acting like this; she's not at all like who I used to know."

"That was kind of my question, anyway," Kai said. Opal looked at him guiltily. Had she been avoiding answering his question? She'd laid out their background without really saying anything. Owing Kai a better response, she thought back to who Kuvira used to be back in Zaofu.

"My mom was really proud of Kuvira and kind of took her in as a protégé," she explained. "Some people wondered if Kuvira would someday take over Zaofu after my mother. It was just rumours, nothing official, and my mother never told any of us back then and I doubt she'd tell me now."

Without prompting, Suyin wouldn't tell Opal if she had planned on Kuvira taking her place eventually. There would be no reason to bring it up now; Opal felt like Suyin would be too ashamed and hurt. She knew how her mother had repressed her angry and resentful feelings towards her sister to the point where they physically fought each other when they saw each other again. Kuvira disobeyed Suyin's orders, rejected her position at Zaofu, and took her son; Opal could tell it was just as personal.

All the same, everyone had expected Kuvira to take over some day, or at least Opal had. Suyin's hair had greyed, but she definitely wasn't going to give up her position anytime soon. While she'd never wanted to control an entire nation, Zaofu was definitely hers. While there was no apparent heir at the time, or even now, people had wondered.

Next to Kuvira, people had speculated that Baatar, the eldest, and even that Opal, the only daughter to a matriarch, would take over as ruler. However, neither Baatar nor Opal, while they'd never really spoken about it with each other, assumed they would ever lead Zaofu. Opal hadn't wanted to, but perhaps Baatar had.

"I wonder if that's why my brother left," she murmured. "He's the oldest but he knew he'd never get to run Zaofu. That would go against Zaofu's principles anyway, we're not a monarchy, but people wondered if my mom would play favourites because we're not a democracy either. Mom wouldn't play favourites, though, she always treated Kuvira very professionally."

"Maybe _that's_ why Kuvira left," Kai suggested. Opal looked at the towns below them, little villages that still showed the signs of being victimized by bandits. The fields around the town they passed over were empty of grain but people were working there, most likely sowing new seeds. "I know my mentor back at the Northern Air Temple wasn't professional with me."

"Who was your mentor?" Opal asked curiously. Kai grinned at her. "You're such a suck up," she laughed.

"My point is that none of the people I admired ever treated me 'professionally'," he said. "If you looked up to someone like she apparently looked up to Suyin, and that person treated you like that and didn't listen to what you had to say . . . you wouldn't want to wait for that to change, right? Especially if you thought she wanted you to take over someday."

"I don't think she left because she was hurt that my mom didn't treat her nicer," Opal began to argue.

"I'm not asking how nicely she treated her," Kai said. "I'm asking if your mom respected her. And you don't have to answer, I don't want to argue or anything. I don't know anything about your mother."

Opal glanced back at Kai. He'd wrapped his legs around his knees and was looking off into the distance. He really didn't want to fight Opal, he just wanted to help her understand what was going on. Opal felt a rush of gratitude towards him. The very least she could do was honestly think about it.

Like every Beifong, her mother had her flaws. But Suyin didn't really owe Kuvira any respect . . . but at the same time Opal could understand why Kuvira would want it. Suyin was very controlling, over her city and the people within it, especially her family. It was why Opal had been so nervous about confronting her, and why she had almost stayed in Zaofu. It was understandable why Suyin would want Opal to stay, but ordering Kuvira to do the same?

Opal still didn't know if she could trust Kuvira, but as far as she knew Kuvira had left Zaofu to try to help the people outside of Zaofu. If Suyin had wanted Kuvira to eventually take over she should have been okay with Kuvira taking initiative. Still, Opal had always paid more attention to her relationship with Kuvira than Kuvira's relationship with her mother. Opal hadn't been there when everything had fallen apart, but Kai was right. It didn't seem entirely fair.

"Maybe," Opal said at last. "It doesn't make what she's doing okay."

"We still don't know if she's doing anything," Kai pointed out.

"I have a bad feeling about it," Opal said.

"Yeah," Kai replied. "You have a feeling." She didn't appreciate it being reduced to just that, but it was probably true. She idly whipped the reins against Lefty's back, and the giant animal grumbled but picked up speed.

"My mom didn't want her to go," Opal said. "But I know from experience that while she means well, it just comes off as controlling. It _is_ controlling." She couldn't help but wonder why her eldest brother had left. "Maybe that's why Baatar went with Kuvira, because of mom. But I thought he was happy in Zaofu. I thought we all were."

"You left," Kai said.

"That's different," Opal replied.

"Is it?" Kai asked. "You and your brother are doing the same thing right now, helping people, right? Maybe Kuvira was his calling, the way airbending was yours." Opal frowned at the way he'd phrased it.

"I don't think he's helping people," she said simply. "And I do think Kuvira's not as great as everyone says she is. And maybe it's just a feeling but I can't just ignore it either." Kai nodded.

"So . . ." he said. "Kuvira was your mom's protégé. They had a falling out when Kuvira decided to do what she thought your mom should do, and when Baatar came with her things just got worse." Opal nodded.

"That's what I heard," she said.

"So what about you and Kuvira?" Kai asked. "What happened between you two?" It seemed that Opal really was a natural airbender. She'd danced around the question so well even she hadn't noticed it.

She watched the horizon of white clouds and blue mountains slowly approaching them."I don't know," she said. "Nothing happened between us." She felt Kai's gaze on her, like he wanted to ask more questions but couldn't find any. She didn't have any more answers to give. She understood her relationship with Kuvira just about as much as she understood Kuvira. She could only speculate.

"Hey, what's that?" Kai suddenly spoke up.

"What?" she asked, glancing over at him.

"Down there," he said, leaning over the edge. Opal peered over Lefty and saw it. "What is that?"

"Is that," she murdered. "Is that, some sort of camp?" She'd heard the rumours. She'd hoped they weren't true.

"No way," Kai said. He looked up at her, face tight with worry. "I'll fly down?" he asked.

"Be careful," she said. "No wait." This was something she had to see for herself. _"I'll_ go down." Kai nodded slowly, changing places with her. She unhooked the wings of her suit and clipped them to her arms.

"If something goes wrong," he said. "I'll try to -"

"If something goes wrong, find a way to contact Air Temple Island and if Jinora contacts you let her know what happened," she said. "If I'm not here in half an hour just leave and go get help."

Kai nodded, looking over the side again. Opal stood up. She took a breath and peered over the edge. This was a part of the job she'd never quite gotten used to, but she had to do this. The strange structure on the ground . . . she had to find out what it was.

Kai met up with Opal on the outskirts of the town half an hour later. Kai grabbed her arm and pulled her onto Lefty. She tried to unclip her wings multiple times until Kai stilled her trembling fingers and unbuttoned them for her. They took off once again and Opal felt like it was much colder than she remembered. She sat down. She could feel his eyes on her.

After a moment she finally spoke up. "I don't understand her," she said, faint with defeat. She wrapped her arms around herself, the faces of Kuvira's prisoners fresh in her mind. "I don't understand her at all."


	6. Chapter Six

**170 AG**

Opal watched the muscles in Kuvira's back move as she pulled apart the metal. "Remember," Kuvira was saying, a little grin in her voice. "This isn't allowed." Opal nodded too eagerly for someone who was not being looked at. Kuvira manipulated the hole she'd melted into the dome to be a size large enough for them to walk through.

"You first," Kuvira said, a hint of gallantry in the way she spoke. It was Kuvira's night off from guard duty, but she knew the schedules and had found a temporarily unguarded part of Zaofu for Opal and her to sneak out of. She was dressed pretty lightly but Opal had no doubt she could defend herself and Opal if something did happen.

Kuvira wasn't wearing her guard's uniform; she was wearing some of her dancing clothes but bands of metal encircled her arms and legs. She also wore gloves that were equipped with the metal rope both guards and dancers utilized. Kuvira had mentioned to Opal once that she didn't like wearing the poncho-style clothing that was that was currently straddling the line between traditional and fashionable in Zaofu, and Opal rarely saw her wearing clothes like that.

Kuvira may have dressed lightly, but she was wielding enough defensive weapons for it to be considered armor. All that meant was that when Kuvira stepped outside with Opal and turned around to seal the metal behind them the moonlight set her skin alight with a kind of blue Opal had never seen before. Kuvira turned around then with a smile that seemed to promise Opal she'd seen nothing yet.

"Come on," she said, and Opal could hear a hint of giddiness in her voice. It wasn't just Opal that was excited about this after all. Kuvira gestured towards the horizon and Opal turned her head to really take it all in for the first time. Her jaw dropped open.

The moonlight hit the lotus structure of the domes, lighting them up like a jewels against the blue-black lines of the mountain. In the sky, there were millions of stars, clustering together so closely they lightened the night where they gathered. On the ground dew had collected into constellations of their own and they glittered when Opal moved her head.

It was the rainy season and the storms had littered the ground with large pools that were still enough to reflect the moon, patches of pure white in the dark, blue-green night. The air hummed with a sweet scent of grass and distant blooming flowers. The world was crisp and perfect.

The pure blackness and Kuvira by her side made Opal feel overwhelmed and humbled. Looking up at the stars again, shimmering and flashing, then down at the valley embraced by mountains Opal felt her knees grow weak. She'd read so many adventure stories, chased to remember so many dreams, and yet it was this simple sight that brought her down to this point.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kuvira asked, and she almost sounded proud. Opal nodded, feeling tears build in her eyes. She couldn't cry in front of Kuvira and crying over something like this would be too ridiculous. She tried to wipe her eyes subtly but Kuvira noticed and laughed lightly. "You can see why I don't mind working nights if I get to patrol outside." Opal nodded fervently. She couldn't speak yet.

"Come on," Kuvira said. "I'll show you a better view."

They walked in silence, Opal trailing behind Kuvira a little. She'd never seen anything like this outside dreams, it didn't seem real and Opal couldn't stop her eyes from eating up the scene, desperate to keep it alive in her mind. She felt like the sight would shatter if she looked away for a moment. Kuvira led her deeper into the night.

They settled down against the other side of the dome, the cool metal biting the backs of Opal's arms as she sat down. The view was even more breathtaking here, settled between all the domes. The river snaked off into the distance, smearing the reflections of stars inside the water. Kuvira had her arms folded, but didn't seem too bothered by the cold.

"This is amazing," Opal murmured admiringly. Kuvira nodded and Opal looked at her for a moment, the small smile on Kuvira's lips searing its memory into Opal's brain. Opal looked away quickly, cheeks hot in the cold night. Her heart pounded and Opal pressed one hand to her chest, feeling it beat through her skin.

"Are you cold?" Kuvira asked, dismayed, having misread Opal's gesture. Opal folded her hands in her lap. She was cold after all, but it was definitely worth it.

"Are you?" she asked. Kuvira nodded appreciatively at the response.

"A little," she said. They were both freezing.

For a second Opal desperately wanted to tell Kuvira to hold her. She wanted one of Kuvira's arms to wrap around Opal, tugging her and inviting her to lean against the dancer. Opal bit down those thoughts and didn't examine them. The night was already perfect as it was, she couldn't tempt the universe, and she couldn't afford to think about why Kuvira holding her would make her even happier.

"Next time we'll dress up warmer," Kuvira promised. Next time. Opal's throat swelled so she couldn't embarrass herself.

She breathed in the world and let out the exhale, a cloud billowing from her mouth. "My mom ran away from home when she was sixteen and became a pirate," she said after awhile. "Then she joined a travelling circus, and then spent a few years living in a sandbender commune. She's seen so much." She knew Kuvira could hear the admiration in her voice.

"I know," the metalbender replied. Suyin had probably seen more of the world than the entire population of Zaofu combined and everyone in Zaofu knew that. When Opal was little her mother's memories would be her daughter's bedtime stories, mingling with tales of the previous Avatar and of Opal's grandmother. "Do you want to see those things as well?"

Of all the stories her mother would tell her, Opal had always found her mother's past the most fascinating. The way her mother spoke revealed to Opal how much she loved those days. She didn't want to go back to those times, and Opal didn't believe she missed them, but she looked back on it all with a fondness and satisfaction that Opal wanted to earn for herself someday.

"Kind of hard not to," Opal said at last. "After all those stories. Maybe it's just a part of being a Beifong girl. The urge to . . ." she trailed off. Opal loved Zaofu more than anything in the world. She'd never tell her mother this, though she'd told her father once and he'd smiled at her with a look in his eye that made her feel like she was something to be proud of.

The thing was . . . Opal had heard too much about the world to let it pass her by. She had to see it. Even this little scrap of world had nearly made her teary-eyed because of how overwhelmingly beautiful it was. She didn't know how she would see the rest . . . she wasn't a bender and she couldn't fight. She knew there was a reason why the domes were raised every night. But she could freeze to death out here, sitting next to Kuvira and watching the moon, and feel like it was worth it.

"I don't remember a lot about my family," Kuvira spoke up suddenly. Opal looked at the moonlight on her skin, reflected in her eyes and hair. Her breath misted out of her mouth, rising to the stars, as she continued to talk to Opal. "I was came to Zaofu when I was eight years old. I was lonely at first, your mother saw that I had potential and she was very kind to me."

"Why didn't your parents come with you?" Opal asked.

"They weren't metalbenders like I was," Kuvira said. Opal froze at the offhand way Kuvira had said it, like not accompanying a child to a strange city was something forgivable because of their bending status. Many parts of the city were inaccessible to people who couldn't metalbend, but Opal's father and the few other non-metalbenders found it liveable.

Kuvira had moved on. "I used to hate my parents for what they did to me, sending me away. I felt inadequate, and angry, but I didn't have anywhere to direct that anger except at myself. In many ways your mother and the city she created saved me, allowed me to direct my emotions, good and bad, into making myself a better person."

Opal had had no idea. Kuvira's feelings had never come up, but this was not really something that would come up often. She held her breath and let Kuvira continue. "I couldn't imagine staying with my family now, and I'm grateful they sent me away," Kuvira said. She sounded too bitter to be telling the truth and she noticed Opal's doubting expression.

"They said that they wanted what was best for me," she amended. "But if anything good came from it, it was from what I did for myself." Opal tried not to pity Kuvira, but it must've been incredibly lonely.

While Kuvira hadn't been outright rejected by her family, she had been sent away at such a young age that she might as well have been. If more than a decade had passed and Kuvira still spoke of her family with such a hurt tone it was clear that they hadn't tried to earn her back.

"Where did you stay?" Opal asked softly.

"For awhile I stayed at your house, actually," Kuvira said, folding her arms over her legs. "You were just a baby at the time, maybe two or three years old. You wouldn't have remembered me. Your mother let me stay until she found a better home for me."

"And it was better?" Opal asked. Kuvira looked at Opal, a little surprised, then smiled easily.

"Of course they were better," she said. "They weren't metalbenders so there was never any pressure for me to learn. Su actually visited quite often to teach me." That sounded like Opal's mother. Suyin felt responsible for all of her citizens and enjoyed interfering in their lives in positive ways when she could.

Still, the fact that Kuvira's guardians couldn't metalbend must have made her think of her biological parents in different ways. Opal couldn't imagine how terrible it must have felt to be abandoned like that. Opal never really fit into the Beifong household as neatly as her other siblings, but she'd never been made to feel unwanted.

"My point is," Kuvira said, calling Opal's attention back to the strong, talented woman she'd become. "That even though I was cast out, I still made something out of myself. Your mother gave me that chance, Zaofu gave me that chance. Words can't describe how grateful I am for this city but Opal . . . even I want to leave sometimes."

Opal blinked in surprise. Kuvira smiled a little at her. Opal turned back to the view. The moon had risen higher in the sky now and was a little brighter now. Clouds were pooling around the mountains, drifting down, and in the distance Opal could see wind rifling through the grass and heading in their direction. Kuvira also wanted to leave sometimes. It wasn't just Opal.

And it wasn't just that Opal wanted to go outside sometimes and watch the moon. The way Kuvira looked at her told Opal that she understood that as well. Opal, greedily, needed more. She had everything she wanted, and she always felt like if she died that night she'd have seen and appreciated the world enough. She still wanted more.

But . . . this was enough. Sitting, surrounded by mountains and the black night, feeling both small and large. The stars seemed to spin, and the grass glittered and a cold gust of wind crept on her and Kuvira. Kuvira grimaced against the cold but seemed to enjoy it. They'd have to sneak back soon but for now the moment hung in the air, waiting for them to move.

"Thank you, Kuvira," Opal said, hoping Kuvira could tell how grateful she was. This was one of the most beautiful things Opal had ever experienced, and she couldn't properly vocalize just exactly how it made her feel. Kuvira smiled at her.

"Just imagine if the entire world was as advanced as Zaofu," she replied. She gestured at the view offhandedly. "We wouldn't need the domes."

"We couldn't go out at night when it rains though," Opal pointed out. She liked taking midnight strolls when her mind was feeling full, and she loved to hear the patter of rain hitting the domes, echoing across the place. It wasn't quite as stunning as this, in retrospect, but there was something beautiful in it as well.

"There's nothing quite like night rain either," Kuvira spoke up. Opal glanced at the scene Kuvira had shown her again and saw that Kuvira knew what she was talking about. She smiled.

"I'd like a world where I'd have both options," she confessed softly. Kuvira glanced at her.

"Make that world," she said as if it was the simplest thing she could have proposed. In the night, outside of the pleasant cage that was Zaofu and underneath Kuvira's gaze, Opal felt for a moment, short-lived and brilliant, like Kuvira's words were the easiest truth in existence.


	7. Chapter Seven

**174 AG**

Jinora hadn't contacted them in nearly two weeks, which wasn't her fault. She had more important things to be doing than checking up on them. All this meant was that Kai and Opal would have to travel back to tell the airbenders what they'd learned if she didn't contact them first. They were going to fly back anyway but the information they'd just learned made them feel desperate and anxious.

It took Kai finding Opal asleep at Lefty's reigns for them to agree to sleep on the ground and not take shifts flying back because if Opal was falling asleep at the job it meant Lefty would start to as well. They decided to fly most of the day and find a town to rest up at night. Lefty preferred travelling like that anyway and Opal felt bad about pushing him too hard.

Opal and Kai landed down in a small town that was still in the honeymoon phase of the Earth Kingdom's occupancy. Kai and Opal knew not to talk too much about what they had seen because there was no way they'd be believed until it was too late. The Air Nomads were not in a position of trust or authority in the world quite yet.

Some people resented the nomads for not helping their towns in their time of need, but they were a minority. Most people looked at the nomads as a novelty. The Air Nomads were, for the most part, known for not being particularly useful but not being particularly harmful either. People liked getting their photos taken with them and things like that but Opal and Kai knew there was a limited amount time they could spend in a village's hospitality before wearing out their welcome.

In smatterings of towns across the kingdom there was always some villager who'd left to join the nomads anyway. Many people were eager for news Opal didn't have but Kai always found some way to placate them. This town was no different than the other towns they'd passed by. Most people simply ignored them beyond some initial interest, and it suited them just fine.

When they landed, Kai told Opal to find a place for Lefty to sleep while he'd look for a place for them. One thing Opal could thank Kuvira for was that bandits were no longer trying to steal Kai's bison. Lefty lumbered alongside Opal while she located the barn they'd spotted from the sky. It was a bit of a stretch to convince the owner to let Lefty sleep there, seeing as Lefty could barely fit, but she managed.

Opal needed to count her coins to pay the owner of the barn but by the time she'd readied the money the owner waved his hand and said he'd let Lefty stay there for free for the night. People were still euphoric and generous after pledging their allegiance to the Great Uniter. Also, Opal probably looked like she needed it. She thanked him until he told her to leave.

Wandering back into the main part of town she located Kai outside a bar. "I found us a place," he said. "They're kinda desperate for the business, so I talked them down kind of cheap." Opal made a face but they also needed the money to last so she couldn't complain.

"I got Lefty a free night," she said.

"Wow, I guess you picked up some skills from me," Kai said, sounding impressed. Opal rolled her eyes. "Come on, there's food in here," he gestured at the bar. She turned a skeptical gaze on him; he had a few years to go before they'd let him drink anywhere but Kai was already walking through the door.

It turned out the place had once been a bar but with the lack of supplies after the revolution and the fact that the Kuvira's army wasn't going to transport liquor as its first priority, the place had been turned into a makeshift restaurant. It had clearly been reopened recently; the smell of dust still lingered along with the scent of fresh food.

"And now we have more money to spend here," Kai said, sounding relieved, pacing into the restaurant.

"We have to save it," Opal reminded him.

"Opal!" Kai whined. He sounded ridiculous and all but stamped his little foot in indignation. Opal snorted. "Hey," Kai whined again. "Don't make fun of me!"

"Fine," she relented. "I _guess_ we could afford to spend a little more than usual."

"Yes!" he crowed victoriously.

They sat at the bar, peering up at the menu on the wall. "What's your specialty?" Kai asked the bartender as Opal surveyed the bar. There quite a few people in here, quite a few children as well. The scent that had welcomed Opal and Kai was wafting away from the soups people were eating and Opal's stomach rumbled.

She looked up at the menu to see if there was anything vegetarian. Fortunately, there was something on there that was an option. "How about the vegetable noodle soup?" she nudged Kai.

"Pau buns are their specialty," Kai said, looking lost.

"This place looks like it's been open for two weeks," Opal said.

"Hey, good guess," the bartender said cheerfully. Kai looked at Opal with sad eyes.

"I guess we could get both," she sighed. Kai did a little dance in his seat. He was like a younger brother she actually liked so she had an even harder time saying no to him. "Also, could we get some tea?" The bartender nodded and walked back towards the back room.

"You're a jerk," she muttered.

"I believe in people," he said easily. "Those buns are going to be worth it."

When they arrived Opal had to admit they were pretty tasty. Opal had been concerned that they'd have meat, since she and Kai had always been vegetarians when they could afford to be, but they were stuffed full of fresh vegetables. Opal hadn't tasted anything so delicious for about two years.

The soup itself was very good as well, warm and slick, tasting like the kind of food that would make someone homesick. "Where'd you get us our room?" Opal asked as she happily devoured her meal.

"Some inn," he said. "I got us two beds, too. Score!"

"How did you manage that?" Opal asked. She didn't mind sleeping with Kai but sometimes he pushed her off the bed and that had gotten old really fast.

"I told her we were dating and she insisted," he snickered.

"Kai!" Opal mumbled, embarrassed. She glanced back at him. "And you didn't have to pay extra?"

"Nope," he said. He grinned at her silence. "We're going to use that, aren't we?"

"Oh, shut up," she said good-naturedly. The soup was already making her feel better than she had in ages, lighter somehow. For a relatively little amount of money they were getting so much food; it was a feast. She hadn't eaten like this . . . ever. She loved Chef's food back in Zaofu, everything the man had ever made was a masterpiece. This was something simple but it made Opal feel so genuinely happy.

"I think this is the best thing I've ever eaten," she told Kai.

"Same," he said cheerfully. Opal paused chewing. Not everyone had a background like hers.

"I'm sorry, Kai," she said. "I didn't think."

"About what?" he asked. Opal stirred her soup awkwardly. "Oh. You know, you think your rich girl victim-complex is charming," he said, taking another bite of his pau bun. "It's really not." Opal flushed. He noticed that and stopped eating for a moment and looked a little regretful at his choice of words.

"Look, just don't, pity me. And don't pity yourself," he muttered and stirred his soup moodily. "You can feel bad, and you should, it sucks a lot that I was poor. But feeling guilty about it is useless and bringing it up kinda ruins the meal."

"I'm sorry," Opal said.

"Stop apologizing," Kai said, looking at her. Opal shut her mouth. He frowned. "Right now, it doesn't matter where we came from, or what we did. We're both in a better place than we were three years ago. Helping people is always going to be a better place. Being with a friend is always going to be a better place. This soup tastes good because we're both tired and hungry and with _each other_. That, and the fact that it's good soup." he added hastily when the bartender glared at him.

Opal smiled down at her bowl. Neither she nor Kai had really had friends before this. Despite their backgrounds they were similar in many ways and those similarities bridged their differences and made them an efficient, balanced team. They weren't just friends, they were partners. "I love you, Kai," she said quietly. She really did. Over all they'd been through in the past few years she'd grown to care for him like he was family.

"I'm taken," he responded haughtily.

"Kai!" she grinned at his deflection. He didn't want to get too bogged down with a serious discussion.

"I love you, too," he said, smiling at her. "Just stop, acting like I'm going to fall apart if you bring up how poor I was. I'm not, someone for you to pity. I took care of myself." He was still such a kid; proud and angry.

"You shouldn't have had to," Opal murmured. "You shouldn't have had to be a bender for someone to care about you."

"Yeah," Kai said, stirring his bowl. "Yeah, I sometimes wonder where I'd be if I didn't learn how to bend. Probably in prison. And you, you'd probably still be in Zaofu." Opal nodded.

"Maybe not," she said. "There's a reason why we're airbenders, and even if there isn't, I know us." She couldn't help but grin. "We'd see each other, Kai. We'd find each other." She had no idea where she was pulling that from, but it was accompanied by such an intense, giddy feeling that she knew it was the truth. Kai nodded seriously.

"You know I . . . I've never had someone I could really depend on before," he said. "Or, I guess it's better to say that I've never had someone depend on me, someone who trusted me completely, someone who actually . . . wants what's best for me. Growing up the way I did, I thought everyone just looked out for themselves but that isn't true. I never had a friend like you. But," he said, growing grim. "Kuvira." Opal's heart sank.

"I don't want to talk about her," she said, fingers clenching around her bowl, the heat marking her skin.

"We won't," he said. He glanced around the bar, at the bowls of soup full of vegetables the Great Uniter's army had brought to the town. "We can't. But, my point is . . . I think things are going to change soon. Something's going to happen." Opal didn't doubt it, Kuvira had told her as much. "I guess, I just want to say thank you, and goodbye, just in case."

"I'll accept that thank you," she said firmly. "But you're not getting rid of me just yet."

"Just," he said, looking troubled. "Whatever happens - take care of yourself, okay? If I can't, make sure you do."

"If she takes you," Opal said. "Do everything you can to get away. I don't know how bad it gets, but I know I don't want you to be the one to find out." Kai heaved a sigh into his meal, looking solemnly at the noodles. They'd agreed to go tell Tenzin and the others but they hadn't discussed it with each other. Clearly they'd both been thinking about it.

They hadn't really spoken about what Opal had seen down at Kuvira's camp. There wasn't much more than what they'd seen in the sky, so there was no point. But they'd pointedly avoided talking about what it could mean. "Want the rest of my pau buns?" he asked. Opal did. Kai slid his plate over and finished off his tea.

"I'm glad you're my friend, too, Kai," Opal spoke up as she chewed on a bun. He smiled at her.

"I know," he said.

"These last few months would've been really frustrating without you," she said, taking the chance to move onto a lighter topic. "Is it conceited to say that it's annoying to arrive too late to help anyone?"

"I wouldn't say we arrive too late," Kai shrugged. "But I will say that Kuvira definitely has a better mode of transportation than we do, no offense, Lefty," he added as though the bison could hear him. Mentioning Kuvira made Opal feel cautious but she still laughed.

Suddenly, the door of the bar wafted open, a breeze hitting the back of Opal's neck. "I got the paper," a child said as they entered and walked up to the bar. They could barely reach the counter so Kai helped them out, placing the newspaper on top of the counter.

"Thanks kid," the bartender said, tossing them a coin. The child argued about the amount and Opal's eyes wandered over to the paper, still feeling warm from talking to Kai. Her eye caught the headline and she pulled it over to her. She gasped out loud.

"Kuvira's in charge of the Earth Kingdom?" Opal yelled, slamming the newspaper away from her.

"Whoa, Opal, calm down," Kai hissed, glancing around the place nervously.

"What, the Great Uniter?" the kid asked. "That's old news, lady." Opal felt sick.

"I'm sorry," she said, sitting down. She hadn't noticed she'd stood up. She was trembling with barely suppressed rage. When Kuvira had talked to Opal she was planning to - "Is Prince Wu alright?"

The bartender shrugged. "Last I heard he was moping around Republic City in one of the Sato estates."

"What happened?" Opal asked, probably a little too intensely.

"You have the newspaper," the bartender responded.

Kai laughed awkwardly. "Can my friend have another cup of tea?"

Opal leafed through the pages, skimming the article as quickly as she could. Most of the news revolved around Kuvira. She'd gone to Republic City, to Wu's coronation, and usurped him in front of all his people. No one had stopped her. Opal had met Wu once back in Zaofu and while he hadn't struck her as the most competent future ruler anyone would be better than someone throwing their dissenters into camps.

"Your tea is here," Kai said. Opal felt too sick to drink it.

"Kai," she said, voice high.

"We stick to the plan," Kai said firmly. Opal nodded. Things were so much worse than she thought. She had to get back home. She had to see her family. She had to find and shake some sense into Bolin. She had to stop Kuvira before she fucked up even more. Before she came for Zaofu, _oh no_ , Kuvira was going to come for Zaofu next because of course she was -

Kai was talking in the distance and Opal couldn't breathe. She sagged against the counter, her heart thudding through her chest, feeling chills break across her arms. Kai looped an arm under her shoulder and pulled her out into the night where she could fall apart with some dignity. Opal just leaned against the wall outside, sobbing and shuddering, unable to think and thinking far too much. Kai pulled her into a hug and they sank down against the building.

When Opal finally gained some focus, exhausted with a splitting headache, Kai was saying, "We'll stop her." Opal felt nauseous and exhausted. He helped her to her feet and they began walking towards the inn. Opal wiped her eyes and told him it wasn't comforting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: alcohol mention, food/eating  
> Other notes: I went back and edited the previous chapters, ripping off Windbloom's way of specifying the date. Please treat yourself to her stories, they're beautiful.


	8. Chapter Eight

**170 AG**

Opal was taking a walk across Zaofu, enjoying the sun and wind, when she spotted Kuvira. She and a friend had set out a blanket on the grass and were relaxing together. Kuvira's friend was dressed in Zaofu's traditional clothes and Kuvira wore a top and loose, green pants. Kuvira was really beautiful, stretched out across the woman's lap and laughing joyfullyin the daylight. The sight made Opal smile a little even while her heart clenched in her chest.

"Hey, Opal," Kuvira said, grinning at Opal. Opal blushed and glanced away, she hadn't intended on Kuvira noticing her as she passed them.

"Hi," Opal said, stopping and walking over to Kuvira, a little reluctantly.

"Out for a walk?" Kuvira asked, eyes bright.

"Yeah, just a small one," Opal shrugged. Kuvira's gaze fell on the book Opal was holding and raised an eyebrow.

"Good book?" she asked.

"I like it," Opal replied, self-consciously clutching it to herself.

"So about those dance lessons," Kuvira said, changing the subject with ease. Kuvira had somehow managed to get Opal to agree to some lessons. Opal was forever torn between wanting to be around Kuvira and not wanting to humiliate herself in front of her but she'd accidentally said yes to Kuvira's offer and now had to go through with it. "Are you busy now?"

"Ah, no," Opal said. She obviously wasn't. Kuvira raised her eyebrows. "You're free?" she asked.

"Yeah, for awhile," Kuvira said easily. "Want to practice?" Opal gulped. She really didn't. "You promised," Kuvira reminded her, teasingly.

"Yeah, alright," Opal sighed, running her hand through her hair.

"No need to sound so enthusiastic," Kuvira chuckled up at her. Opal shrugged.

"Finding a new dance partner?" Kuvira's friend spoke up. Her voice was soft and teasing.

"Yes," Kuvira said. "Jealous?"

"I can only take up so much of your time," her friend replied good-naturedly, sitting up and causing Kuvira's head to roll off her lap and onto the grass. "I have to leave for work now, anyway." Kuvira sat up and grinned at the short-haired woman.

"I'll see you later?" she asked, getting to her feet.

"I'll see you later," the other woman replied, winking at Kuvira. Opal was a little confused at Kuvira's secretive smile in response, but then Kuvira was up and moving, and Opal was struggling to keep up. Kuvira hadn't even told her to come with her.

"I'm thinking today we'll start with some stretches and then just see what level you're at," Kuvira suggested.

"Oh - okay," Opal mumbled. She was sure it'd be obvious as soon as she started stretching.

"Don't worry about looking a little silly," Kuvira said. "We all start at zero and then work our way up from there." Kuvira's words were supposed to be reassuring but they didn't really help. Still, even while dread was eating Opal up, Kuvira's enthusiasm was catching. It was best to get it over with anyway.

Kuvira and her friend hadn't been that far from the studio, so within a few minutes they were at the building. Kuvira swiftly bent open the doors and walked into the place. It was so strange for Opal to see the giant building devoid of dancers; whenever she'd dropped by her mother had always been running rehearsal. Opal soon found out they wouldn't be dancing in the main room however. There were more rooms inside the building and Kuvira unlocked one, stepping inside and holding the door open for Opal.

As Kuvira turned on the lights and set up a record player Opal looked around the area. This room was the farthest thing from intimate which made her feel relieved. It was a smaller practice room; it still had the tall ceiling but the walls were covered with reflective metal. With the mirrors, the place seemed huge.

Kuvira put on a bright, somewhat jazzy tune that was more characteristic of Republic City than Zaofu. Opal hadn't heard any of the dancers dance to songs like this but she figured that they used it for warming up. "I don't really like this kind of music," Kuvira admitted, rebinding the bandages on her arms. "But this one has a good rhythm."

Kuvira stretched her arms over her head, her muscles flexing. Opal set down her book by the door and paced towards the middle of the room where Kuvira was standing, looking up at the metalbender with wide eyes and a determined, if probably apprehensive, expression. "Now," Kuvira said with a smile. "Have you ever danced by yourself when no one was watching?"

"No," Opal said honestly. "Not since I was a kid." This was off to a great start.

"Really?" Kuvira asked. "Do you think it would be easier for you to dance if no one watched?"

"No," Opal said. "Because I can't dance." Kuvira grinned.

"Dancing isn't about skill, it's about feeling," she assured Opal. "If you like to dance you'll get better eventually."

"I also don't like to dance," Opal reminded her with a shy smile.

"Well, how can you know that if you don't dance?" Kuvira asked her. "Come on. Just move around a little. Stretch. Do whatever feels comfortable." None of this felt comfortable. Opal tried moving to rhythm but it just came out jerky and uncoordinated. The lights were way too bright in this room, and Kuvira was watching her. Oh spirits, she was totally unteachable wasn't she.

"Maybe we should try something different," Kuvira said thoughtfully. Opal stopped dancing immediately, hanging awkwardly. She squeezed her eyes shut. This was unbelievably embarrassing and awful. Opal hoped Kuvira didn't notice how red her face probably was; Opal's cheeks were burning. She just wanted this to be over.

"This is an older song," Kuvira spoke up. "The dance is Bagua and Northern Shaolin in synchronization." She noticed Opal's confused look. "It's a traditional style. Here I'll dance with you. At least now you got warmed up . . . sort of." Opal couldn't wait for Kuvira to give up on her.

Kuvira changed the record than walked over to Opal as it began to spin. "The movements in this dance," she said, starting to circle Opal and extending her arm. "Were based on bending." Opal mimicked her and stuck out her arm and Kuvira moved so that their wrists touched. Opal began to circle around Kuvira in the opposite direction, trying to follow her movements best that she could. The music began to play.

"I know you can't bend, but you can still learn from it," Kuvira went on. "It's all about listening to your body. You can't just will it into happening; your body and your mind have to work together to manipulate whichever element you've been given. That type of control is very important to being a good dancer as well as a good bender and it's one of the reasons I still dance. It's not an ability you can stop practicing and then still expect to have in a year."

Kuvira switched directions and Opal stumbled a little but picked up the movement. "I'm, sorry," Opal mumbled. She was following Kuvira okay; the moves were pretty basic and Kuvira's body language gave Opal warnings when she was going to change something up, but Opal still wasn't moving perfectly on beat or even in sync with Kuvira. She was grateful that at least she wasn't tripping over her own feet or stepping on Kuvira's.

"You're not listening to yourself," Kuvira said, as though it was that simple. "You've got nothing to be embarrassed about, Opal, no one will think less of you if you're never a good dancer. But." Opal looked up at the metalbender for the first time since they started dancing together. "You should still try." Opal was trying.

"Just listen to the music and try to enjoy it," Kuvira said, her voice low and soothing. Opal closed her eyes and listened as they moved. The music had a slow, steady rhythm, but the instruments were bright and the melody leapt from beat to beat. It did sound old, and kind of airy; its rhythm was slow now but not at all tentative and it seemed like it was picking up. It was nice.

The world narrowed down to the touch of Kuvira's wrist to Opal's, the rough bandage there. The dancers wore them to prevent accidental injuries from dancing with metal, taking them off only for opening night. The music and the bindings were all Opal noticed and her body moved by itself. Kuvira guided her movements with care, and when the rhythm started speeding up Opal didn't worry that much.

"The traditional dance was a little more complex," Kuvira murmured, guiding Opal's movements to change directions and try a slightly more complicated move. "But these are the basic movements. The circling we're doing here is something common in all forms of bending, gathering the energy together." Kuvira moved her hands, mimicking the movement of bending and Opal copied her, calmer now.

They moved again as the music picked up pace, and Opal felt more confident. Her body had warmed up now and she felt safe to open her eyes now. Kuvira was grinning at her. "You just had to relax," she said, sounding pleased.

"I'm still not great," Opal said, stumbling a little as Kuvira broke off for a move but Opal quickly corrected her course.

"You don't have to be great," Kuvira said. "But you wanted to dance, and now you can dance. Improvement comes with practice." Eyebrow quirked to let Opal know she was going to try something, Kuvira span Opal. The nonbender fortunately didn't fall over and resumed her previous position, circling Kuvira with a little grin.

"Thanks," she said. It was true, she could dance a little. It wasn't that big of a deal, actually. Opal felt almost relieved. She was still kind of clumsy, but she could do it. They practiced for half an hour or so more. At one point Kuvira even switched the music back to the original song and Opal did a much better job at loosening up and dancing than she had before.

Opal found herself grinning, it was actually kind of fun. She heard a gentle knock at the door and turned around to see her mother. "Opal, why couldn't you learn how to dance when I taught you?" Suyin asked semi-miserably from the doorway. Opal turned around and smiled at her mother, stepping away from Kuvira and wandering over to her.

Kuvira also looked at Suyin carefully and expectantly, waiting for her judgement. Suyin smiled at them both. "That was lovely," Suyin said, threading her arm through her daughter's to pull her along back to the guard. "You're an excellent teacher, Kuvira."

"I learned from the best, Suyin," Kuvira said, pleased but still a little formal.

"I told you to call me Su," Opal's mother scolded Kuvira lightly. She turned her head and smiled at her daughter. "You've really grown, Opal," Suyin said fondly.

"I'm not going to start dancing now, mom," Opal warned her.

"I know," her mother said cheerfully, running her hands through Opal's hair idly. "You were very good though."

"Mom," Opal repeated but she was starting to smile.

"I think I have guard duty now," Kuvira said, reading the room. "Good afternoon, Opal, Su." With one last smile to Opal Kuvira left the room, leaving the door open for them. Opal waved goodbye. Suyin watched Kuvira go, and then wandered from Opal's side to shut off the music and put the records away.

"How do you feel about Kuvira, Opal?" she asked as she worked.

"I like her," Opal said honestly. She wasn't sure why her mother was asking though.

"Do you trust her?" Suyin questioned. Opal didn't know how to answer that. Kuvira had never been put in a position to betray or uphold Opal's trust. Suyin seemed to see Opal's confusion and wandered over to her daughter again. "She's rising quickly through the ranks," she explained. "I'm sure you've heard rumours about how she's next in line to be the guard captain. I'd like to have someone I can trust in that position."

"You don't trust Kuvira?" Opal asked. She didn't know why Suyin wouldn't, especially since she'd been the one to teach Kuvira metalbending.

"I trust you," Suyin said firmly. "I trust your judgement as much as I trust Aiwei's." Opal looked at her mother. She knew that Suyin had already made her mind up either way, she'd known Kuvira the longest after all. All the same, she wanted Opal's opinion and the way she looked at Opal made Opal feel she had the final say.

Her mother knew that she sometimes ran a fine line between being too controlling over her people and too biased. She needed to know from someone like Opal that her opinion was alright. She knew Opal would never abide by anything morally wrong from anyone and she trusted Opal to tell her relevant information that she and Aiwei might have missed.

Kuvira had never betrayed Opal. But she had let Opal outside of Zaofu. Kuvira been covered in metal, doubling as potential defence and offense, and nothing had happened but she'd still pulled apart the dome. Opal knew she should tell the Metal Clan's matriarch about this. Instead, she took her mother's hand, held it and smiled.


	9. Chapter Nine

**174 AG**

Kai and Opal had been flying for a few days straight and exhaustion was settling tightly in their bones. Taking the knowledge of camps together with the fact that Kuvira had finally conquered the Earth Kingdom officially meant that there was no time they could waste. They hadn't heard of any attempts of retaliation by other nations but the leaders didn't know what Kuvira was doing, what she was capable of.

If Kuvira was imprisoning her own people she was a threat to everyone else. She'd nearly convinced Opal otherwise and the airbender was increasingly finding that she couldn't trust herself around Kuvira. The woman easily threw off Opal's understanding of reality; she tried her best to be objective around her but there was too much history there and trying to distrust Kuvira made Opal sound like she hated her. She couldn't find neutrality.

Kai hadn't been her partner two years ago when Kuvira had been appointed the president of the Earth Kingdom. Back then, she and Jinora had worked together; Opal felt like it had been a babysitting gig for Tenzin's benefit even though it was completely unnecessary. Opal had still been a little unsteady with her bending but it came to her easier than anything else ever had, especially under the tutelage of the airbending master she fought alongside with.

Together, she and Jinora both did their best to fill the recently vacated role of the Avatar and try to bring balance to the world. Bolin had set out to do the same in the Earth Kingdom army and he quickly rose through the ranks. He didn't think it was relevant, and it probably wasn't, to mention that Kuvira was the one who had spotted him and promoted him to his position. While Opal didn't like soldiers she was happy for him; he told her he had really found his calling and she'd been proud.

When Opal first heard rumours about the army's treatment of those who opposed them, she didn't know that Kuvira was at the forefront. If she had she might've formed her views differently but she didn't. With new victories being won by the month, and Kuvira's face on posters and in papers, Opal soon learned who their leader was. But before that, all Opal Beifong knew was the primary purpose of armies.

From studying books upon books since she was a child, and having been indoctrinated with her mother's own distaste for police and military personnel, she knew an army's purpose was to invade and kill before it was to aid and protect. When she found out that the Interim President was on the frontlines, her title of "Great Uniter" spoken with reverence, Opal felt chills and for the first time ever, doubt.

Opal couldn't stop herself from overhearing gossip and the gossip didn't stop either. Even in the towns that had called out for Kuvira in the beginning, one could hear whispers of the ways her army dealt with people who refused to deal with her. Opal didn't believe the rumours at first, she'd known the Great Uniter after all, but the rumours didn't abate the way rumours always did. 

With the clear views her family held, Baatar Jr. aside, Opal had no reason not to doubt Kuvira. She didn't want to, and the few times she'd run into her brother and Kuvira the doubts would evaporate and she'd feel relieved. However, Opal could not ignore the way the world was changing, the way Kuvira was changing, the way her eyes got sharper and her face grew harder each time Opal saw her.

When Kuvira had found Opal in Yi and put her hand on her shoulder she'd lured her into complacency so swiftly, just like she lured everybody. Kuvira would try to play nice but if it failed she would bully people into doing what she wanted. Opal knew this for a fact now but back in the beginning she'd only had a feeling, a sick, sinking feeling, that Kuvira had changed.

After a year of being Jinora's partner, the girl had gone back to the Air Temple to be with her family and oversee new airbenders and Kai had been assigned to be Opal's new partner. Kai was quiet now, at the reigns of his bison. She sat up near the head with him, reading a book. They were both the kind of person that was comfortable with silence.

The book she was trying to read had been given to her by a villager they'd helped awhile back. There was no real room to pack books on Lefty and she'd finished all the ones she'd brought with her so she'd been savouring this one. However, at this moment, thinking was proving to be painful so she'd given up saving the novel and had started reading it again.

"Hey, Opal," Kai spoke up. She looked away from her book immediately. She was jumpy, and hadn't really been reading attentively anyway.

"What is it?" she asked. She put down the novel and waited for him to speak. He just looked at the horizon, considering his words, and she combed her hair through Lefty's fur and looked down at the patchwork fields beneath them.

"How are you and Bolin?" he asked after awhile. Opal said nothing. "It's just, it kind of looks like you guys fought. Badly."

"I guess we did," Opal said. Honestly, it was the last thing on her mind at that moment. And Kai knew that, of course he did, he was trying to distract her. She wished he could distract her with more pleasant things but that obviously wouldn't work. Her relationship with Bolin wasn't a life or death situation. It felt almost, safe, to think about them as opposed to the camps she'd seen. It was something a normal person would think about.

"I was just angry that he didn't believe me when I said he shouldn't trust her," she shrugged. "I know we haven't been around each other for awhile, and I know he really thinks he's doing a good thing, but he isn't. Kuvira isn't trustworthy, but she's very good at making you _want_ to trust her." She swallowed her disappointment and anger and looked back to the land below them.

"Is that why you're so mad at her?" Kai asked. Opal was silent for awhile. She watched the clouds pass by beneath them. They'd slept on the ground last night, Lefty had needed it desperately, but Opal hadn't been able to sleep. Her whole sleeping schedule had crashed and burned so she'd stayed up all night, heart beating against her ribs, screaming at her for trying to sleep when innocent people were being put into camps. She was exhausted and could hardly think.

"How do you and Jinora do it," she asked Kai. "How do you trust each other?" She was cold up here, and she had a little headache, and talking to Kai was making her feel more lonely and lost then his silence had. "It's been three years. Sometimes I feel like I can't trust Bolin to make the right decisions because he can't or won't see the whole picture, and he doesn't trust what I have to say about Kuvira either."

Kai puffed out a sigh. "Well, for one," he said. "Me and Jinora are kinda on the same side so that's easy. But also, trust isn't just something you just - give to another person. It's something you prove to each other, constantly. Jinora's always come through for me, and I've tried hard to do the same for her. I stopped stealing, I stopped lying. Trust isn't something that automatically comes when people love each other."

"Kai," Opal grinned all of a sudden. "Did you just say . . ." Kai's spine stiffened and he blushed.

"I didn't say anything!" he said loudly. "I, I meant, hypothetically, if two people were in love with each other -"

"Anyone I know?" she teased.

"No, I mean, Jinora and I -" he said. As if summoned, Jinora suddenly appeared floating over Lefty. Kai turned his neck, forgetting his backtracking, and grinned at his girlfriend.

"Jinora!" he cried. His arms tensed like he wanted to hug her but otherwise he didn't move; he just looked at her with a bright smile and held on Left's rains tightly. Opal got to her feet and walked over to the girl as Kai coaxed Lefty to hover instead of fly.

"Jinora," Opal said, forcing Jinora's attention onto her. "We have something to tell you about Kuvira."

"So you know?" Jinora asked tensely.

Opal's heart missed a beat. "Know what?" she asked.

"When I heard I knew I had to come and tell you," she said. "Zaofu radioed us as soon as they found out."

"What about Zaofu?" Opal asked, a sinking feeling pouring into her chest.

"Kuvira's travelling to Zaofu right now," Jinora said. "She wants them to join the Empire."

Opal didn't know what to think. Kai let go of Lefty's reins and grabbed her by the arm. "Thanks Jinora," he said to his girlfriend.

"I thought you'd want to know, Opal," Jinora said, sounding almost regretful.

"Thanks," Opal said.

"You wanted to tell me something?" the airbending master asked tentatively.

"It's not important," Kai assured her, keeping his grip on Opal's arm. Opal's mind was blank. "I'll see you soon." Jinora nodded. With a quick smile at her boyfriend and another concerned glance at Opal, Jinora's projection fizzled out of existence.

Kuvira had lied to her so viciously, and now she was going to invade Zaofu and bring down the domes that had been her job to protect. Opal blinked and Kai let go of her arm. She turned to him. "I have to go back," she said. "I have to - I'm sorry Kai - I -"

"Don't worry," Kai insisted, eyes wide. "Go be with your family. Take Lefty, I'll glide back." She grabbed into a tight hug, his chin digging into her shoulder.

"Thank you," she said.

"Just make it there in time," he said as he hugged her back. "Kick her ass for me." She choked on a little laugh but she was terrified.

"Go back and tell Tenzin everything I saw," she ordered him. "If you see Jinora again, tell her." They all probably already knew about the camps and Kuvira's threat on Zaofu would look just as bad to the world leaders, but Opal couldn't leave it up to faith. There hadn't been time to tell Jinora, Opal need to get back to Zaofu immediately.

Kuvira - Opal didn't believe that she'd be able to stop her from doing whatever she'd set her sights on, but Opal needed to be with her family right now. She was grateful that Kai immediately understood that and helped her. He took the money and she kept most of the supplies, she wouldn't have time to buy things. She hugged Kai one last time and he unclipped the wings of his suit. He dove off of his bison and glided away. Opal watched him fade into a dot beneath her before turning Lefty around, settling in for a few more sleepless nights.


	10. Chapter Ten

**171 AG**

Months after the first time, Opal and Kuvira kept dancing together. It wasn't something constant or consistent; they weren't practicing to perfect anything. Whenever Kuvira had a night off of guard duty and wasn't doing anything else Opal would pretend that she had a break from her own not actually busy schedule as well and they would hang out together and dance.

Opal took it more seriously than Kuvira, who probably saw it more like loosening up and stretching than anything else, but it wasn't just because Opal wanted to hang out with her. Opal still admired Kuvira and loved being around her but she was growing to like dancing itself. She'd never be great but she understood why Kuvira enjoyed it now.

Sometimes, Opal even danced _without_ Kuvira. When she didn't have anything else to do some nights, or if her current book got too intense to read, she'd come down to the dance hall and find a room to practice in by herself. She didn't have a record player in her room and preferred practicing with a mirror.

One night Opal had felt like dancing so she walked over to the dance studio, listening to the rain pattering on the metal roof far above her head. It was after dinner and the domes had been closed; most citizens had already turned in for the night. There were few people in the streets so Opal enjoyed the solitude and the echoing drumming of rain.

When she finally approached her mother's dance studio she realized the doors were shut. Of course it would be closed, locked to Opal. The doors were too large and heavy to be opened by a person's physical strength; everyone else used bending to move them. Opal frowned, disappointment churning in her chest.

Many doors in Zaofu would only open to benders and everyone on her mother's dance troupe could metalbend. Looking closer, however, Opal realized the doors weren't completely closed after all. One side was slightly ajar and she squeezed her way through it. It was a lucky coincidence, but she'd probably have to mention it to someone.

Opal walked quietly through the huge dance room. It was quiet here, and she could hear the padding of her feet on the floor. Zaofu, for such a relatively small city, could seem so big at times it overwhelmed Opal. Zaofu was built for grandness; to be something to be so big and wonderful it made you feel small and glad to feel that way. Sometimes all Opal felt was lost. She wandered over to the rooms where Kuvira and she would practice dancing.

Unlike the main dance hall, which was cast mostly in darkness and the bright yellow lights from outside the building, there were lights in the back rooms in addition to the mirrors Opal used to watch herself dance in. She unlatched the heavy door on the far side of the hall and entered. She noticed the glaze of the dim light falling out of one of the rooms, reflected on the floor. Someone was here.

Somebody else using a practice room would explain why the front door was ajar and Opal didn't see a huge problem with it, relaxing slightly. She'd mentioned to Wing that she was going to the dance studio; it wasn't like she was sneaking out. Still, she didn't feel prepared to dance in front of strangers, so she resolved to find another room. Kuvira's room wasn't the only one with mirrors so Opal didn't mind.

She walked quietly passed the doors when she heard a thump and a pained hiss. Was someone hurt? She heard some heavy breathing coming from inside the room. Another grunt pierced the silence. Opal peered inside the room, but here was a metal divider that blocked her view of whoever was making those noises. Opal entered the room carefully and walked up towards the divider.

The heavy breathing was unnerving, and the sounds Opal was hearing were strange and unfamiliar, but if someone was in pain they'd need her help so she toughened up. She peered around the divider and what she saw made her mouth fall open. It was just Kuvira and her friend but what they were doing almost made Opal gasp loud enough to betray her position to them.

Kuvira was sitting on a bench on side of the room and her friend was kneeling on the floor, her hands gripping Kuvira's thighs securely. Kuvira's pants were pooled around her ankles and the other woman's face was in between her legs. Opal was confused for a moment, but then Kuvira moaned again, legs spreading apart wider and hand clutching the woman's short, black hair.

Kuvira was wearing the kind of clothes she wore at rehearsal, loose, white top and green pants. Her hair was in its usual braid but feathers of black were sticking out. She jerked her head to the side and bit back a whimper as the woman between her legs licked her once, slow and deep, and easily slid two fingers inside of her. The woman pressed closer and began sucking on Kuvira, moving her fingers in and out methodically.

Kuvira's fingers tangled in her friend's short hair and her head rolled back, mouth hanging open in a gasp. Kuvira seemed utterly lazy, stretched out across the bench, another woman between her legs. Opal clamped her hand on a gasp. They were - they were having sex! Kuvira and the other dancer! Opal instincts were to run and to hide, and they clashed - leaving her only able to stand behind the divider, mouth hanging open in shock, cheeks burning.

Even when she turned her face and hid she couldn't help but see Kuvira in the mirror on the wall parallel to her. Opal had never seen Kuvira like this, skin flushed on her face and chest, body somehow both taut and relaxed. Kuvira looked like she could barely keep herself still for this but like she wouldn't move for the world. Her mouth hung open, sweat trailing down her face as the short-haired woman licked her.

"How's that?" the other woman asked in a sweet voice. Opal heard her press long, wet kisses onto Kuvira. Kuvira made a low humming noise. Chills ran down Opal's spine. They would be so angry if they found out she was there but she couldn't trust herself to leave unnoticed at that moment.

"Yeah," Kuvira murmured in her deep voice. "That's good." Opal watched, open-mouthed, as a bead of sweat trailed down the slope of Kuvira's neck. She had to get out of here. Kuvira's hand snuck into her shirt, massaging her breast, and the woman moaned again. Her deep voice rumbling inside the compact room sounded like the thunder outside the domes.

Looking around, careful not to knock over anything, Opal began to back away, out of the room. She could only hope that Kuvira didn't see Opal's reflection anywhere but she knew the woman's eyes were shut tight in tense pleasure.

When she turned around and left she caught one last accidental glimpse of Kuvira in the mirror, knuckles white in her friend's hair as the woman pumped her fingers in and out of her, licking her like her life depended on it. Opal practically sprinted across the main room, and squeezed out of the door as fast as she could.

Her heart was pounding too fast and she felt light-headed; she sat down by the side of the building on the grass. The rain was hitting against the metal harder now, in tempo with her rapid heartbeat. She was throbbing in the same place the dancer had been kissing Kuvira. She put her face in her hands and felt the heat in her cheeks. She was blushing more brutally than she ever had in her life, feeling mortified and guilty. She couldn't have gotten away faster.

She also couldn't have guessed that that's what the noises had been, Kuvira and her friend, her girlfriend maybe, having sex. She thought she'd managed to get away without embarrassing them, but she couldn't help but feel embarrassed herself. She should have run away as soon as she'd heard the noises; she should've looked at anywhere but Kuvira and her reflections. Opal could do nothing more but sit in the grass until the throbbing between her legs dulled down.

When Opal went to bed that night she couldn't get the sound of Kuvira's moans out of her head. Kuvira's deep, throaty voice, echoing off the walls of a room identical to the one they usually practiced in. The way her chest rose in her white shirt, her sweat glistening in the dim lighting. Opal couldn't stop thinking about Kuvira's fingers curled in her friend's short, dark hair, tugging harder with each stroke of her tongue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: sex, please note the rating change.  
> Other notes: Thank you sable for all your kind comments, and everyone else who's commented you're all very encouraging and sweet.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**174 AG**

Days had to pass for Opal to finally see the familiar mountains that encircled the valley where her hometown lay. Her throat clenched. From this distance she couldn't see if Kuvira had arrived yet. When a few hours had gone by and Lefty flew over a mountain peak Opal was relieved to see that there were no signs of the Earth Empire army.

Each and every dome was up and the reflected sun burned white into her eyes. Squinting, she spotted some guards milling around outside the city. They weren't watching the skies but she could see them and she knew they would recognize the bison once they noticed it. When Opal and Lefty settled down outside the dome that housed the Beifong estate it opened up for her without hesitation.

Having landed, she recognized a few of the guards and they recognized her as well. She could see that were all stressed, anticipating Kuvira's arrival, but a few guards greeted Opal with smiles. She asked them to take care of Lefty and she turned her back to watch them lead the bison to the stables her father had built for visiting bisons.

The domes began to be sealed up again, and she watched the sunlight retreat until the smallest sliver was eaten up by the shade. Looking down she could see how the plants in Zaofu were suffering from Kuvira's threats, the grass was ill from lack of sun. How long had the city been under this pre-emptive siege?

Suddenly, from behind her, Opal heard a familiar, high-pitched gasp. She turned around quickly, a grin already spreading across her lips. "Opal's here!" Wing yelled, voice breaking a little. "Mom!" Dark thoughts forgotten, Opal almost started crying from happiness as she sprinted up into her brother's arms. He picked her up and spun her around in the air.

"I missed you!" she cried, and she hadn't noticed the magnitude of it until she had her arms around him.

"You got shorter," Wing started blubbering, wiping his eyes as he hugged her back, arms warm on her waist. She grinned into his chest, giddy. Wei all but tackled them when he launched himself at Opal, attaching himself to her side.

"You're back!" the other twin sniffed, mussing up her hair, swaying his siblings in their tight, clumsy embrace. Tears ran down Wing's face without check and he wiped them and laughed even while Wei punched him in the hip. Opal couldn't help but lean up and squeeze them closer to her, smile cracking her cheeks open.

"Mom!" Wing yelled again. Opal saw her mother, elegant in her way that hurt Opal wonderfully to see preserved, emerge from the door of their house and her eyes lit up. She yelled something inside the building and then started running up to her daughter, arms already open. Her brothers' grip on her released, allowing Opal to dart over to their mother.

Suyin grinned, tears in her eyes, as she got her arms around Opal, holding her with strength she'd gained from fighting and dancing and being a mother; a securing hold. Baatar Sr. joined his family in the next second, extending his arms around the both of them, smiling so gently and excitedly. "Opal!" Suyin murmured, as though she couldn't believe it. "You're back!" Wei made a choked sound from behind them.

"We weren't expecting you," Opal's father said warmly, his hand gentle on Opal's back.

"I'll get Chef to make you something to eat, you must be starving," Suyin said, stroking her daughter's hair. Opal sagged in her arms, unwilling to let her mom go just yet. It was so good to be back, to smell her mother's perfume and her father's aftershave. Even the domes that had at times felt oppressive were lovely now, as comforting as her mother's touch.

"I had to come back," Opal said, trying not to cry. She felt her father and mother jostle around her and she knew Wing and Wei had reattached themselves to the messy hug she and her parents shared.

"We're so glad you're here," Suyin said, hoarse with emotion.

"I don't know how much I can help," Opal spoke into her mother's neck. "I didn't see any of Kuvira's troops outside the city."

"No," Suyin said, voice growing more serious.

"She gave us some warning," Baatar Sr. spoke up, his tone still soft. "She'll be arriving soon. She's been gathering together all the soldiers she can spare."

"She plans to invade us," Suyin said, extricating herself from her family's embrace so that she could look Opal in the eye. "She says she wants a diplomatic meeting, but no one brings an army if they just want to talk." Opal recognized the truth in her mother's words.

"She would rather we join the Earth Empire right now," Baatar Sr. said, pushing his glasses up on his nose anxiously. He seemed older now, they both did.

"It's not going to happen," Suyin concluded.

"What can we do?" Opal asked her family. "What can I do?" Wei's sniffs had stopped, and Wing finally let go of Opal's back. The dimness of Zaofu, a sort of twilight colour marked with streetlamps, became reality inside Opal's mind. Opal felt wonderful, loved and cherished, but she couldn't ignore what the future had in store for them, not when there was a possibility she could help.

"I don't know," Suyin said honestly. "But I'll be damned before I let her take Zaofu." Opal had forgotten how fierce her mother could be and how much she admired her for it. Seeing her daughter's expression, Suyin's face softened slightly. "Come on now," she said gently. "Chef's missed someone to cook for. We can deal with Kuvira when she comes. Right now, I'm just happy to have my daughter back home." Opal let herself smile again and her mother, Wing and Wei in tow, tugged her towards the kitchen.


	12. #1: Grow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: body image

In celebration of my [Opal/Kuvira blog](http://kuvopal.tumblr.com/) reaching 100 followers I decided to do sketches for the first three followers who requested one.

[Sára](http://t-m-a-q.tumblr.com/) asked for a drawing of Opal and Kuvira dancing from this fanfiction, so I thought I might as well put it in here! Opal and Kuvira are dancing in the main dance studio at night which has no interior lighting. It also has no mirrors which is coincidentally why I didn't draw them dancing in one of the practice rooms haha. You can look at this as a missing scene since this probably happened at one point.

Here it is on [tumblr](http://kuvopal.tumblr.com/post/108964636913/in-celebration-of-this-blog-reaching-100-followers) in fullview.

 

**170 AG**


	13. Chapter Twelve

**174 AG**

Opal walked into her old bedroom. They had kept it as it was, it had even been dusted. If not for the fact that it didn't smell like her anymore, it was all exactly as she'd left it three years ago. Opal lay down on her mattress and almost gasped at the sensation. Her bed was firm but soft; she hadn't felt a bed this comfortable in years.

From what she learned, not much had changed around the estate either, but people had advanced and grown in ways she was proud, if surprised, to learn about. Over lunch, Opal had forced Chef to gossip to her about her brothers. Both of her younger siblings had joined Zaofu's guard, taking up positions Kuvira and so many others had vacated. They were still eighteen, and hadn't been given a lot of power, but Opal could tell that Wing and Wei would be good at their job.

On the less professional aspects of life, when Wing had turned seventeen he had begun ploughing through romantic partners and had currently paused on a boy Opal remembered from school. Wei, on the other hand, was resolutely single and Opal could tell he, being the more idealistically romantic of the pair, was waiting for the right person. Even in wartime people didn't change much.

Huan had dropped by the kitchen and accidentally ran into Opal. She promptly subjected him to a tight hug and when she finally let him go he grabbed a wrap from the kitchen counter. He moved to leave, an excuse about his latest work ready on his lips, but Opal managed to convince him to stay and eat with her. Suyin, reading the situation, turned and chatted lightly with the chef while Huan ate his lunch and Opal interrogated him about all she'd missed.

Her brother wasn't an outgoing person; he was a sort of blunt introvert who enjoyed art more than people. Opal was friendlier than he was but they both enjoyed solitude with their respective hobbies and because of that had been close to each other when they were children. It didn't take long for Opal to get him to relax and just talk to her.

Huan, according to himself, didn't have much to tell her about his life since not much had changed in it. He didn't ask her about her life and she was hungry for news about Zaofu so she bullied him into expounding on his. In the three years that had passed between them, he'd thrown himself into his art, the impending war hadn't changed that. As he spoke his fingers twitched, somewhat nervous, and she could tell that even then he was eager to get back to his studio.

She wondered if he ever felt like guilty about pursuing his passion while the world outside crumbled, like she did, or if he felt like it was a duty to do so. There was something in the way he spoke and acted that made Opal realize his reasoning was that art and individuality needed to be protected and nourished in such harsh times, not cast aside.

Their conversation waned, and they sat together silently and listened to their mother speak with the chef. Huan finished his lunch eventually and left, but when he did his movements were more relaxed than they'd been when he'd walked in and Opal smiled to herself.

Chef had already been preparing lunch by the time she had arrived, and he'd fed her the food he'd already prepared before going on to make more vegetable wraps than she could possible eat, later insisting that she take them with her. She knew that when this was all over she'd have to invite Kai to visit and let him be pampered as much as he deserved. She left lunch after awhile and wandered back to her bedroom. With a full stomach and a soft bed, she felt totally at peace.

She'd anticipated a battleground but instead found a safe haven, her home eagerly welcoming her back in. Lying on her bed, she rolled her head to the side to look at her bed stand. Her eyes fell on a book she'd started but never finished. She picked it up, and opened it. She lost herself in the novel until her father knocked on the door and told her it was time to eat again.

Dinner was a surprisingly tense affair; her family hardly spoke. Baatar's chair remained empty. There were so many empty seats now . . . first Aiwei, now Baatar. Opal could imagine her own empty seat. She looked at Wing and Wei. They were older than she'd been when she'd left but they'd stayed. She loved Zaofu, she loved her bed and her books and her family, but she couldn't imagine staying now.

When Chef came in she found out he'd prepared her even more of her favourite dishes and she'd almost started crying. She was still full from lunch but she couldn't stop grinning at him whenever he reentered the dining room with another course and eventually he just pulled up a chair and sat with her. They continued their conversation about the changes in Zaofu, but kept the subject matter more general this time around. They were nearly the only two people who talked the entire meal.

Chef's duties hadn't changed at all since the three years had passed, but the dinners had become less lavish due to wartime circumstances and overall mood. Chatting at dinner, and quietly to each other during lunch, Opal managed to piece together most of what had happened since she'd been gone. Suyin had tried to keep a brave face about Kuvira, continuing the dance troupe and parties, but things weren't the same after all that had happened and Suyin slowly let those traditions die.

Her father kept to his innovations, sometimes helping Asami in Republic City with her own plans. He also spent a large portion of his time with Suyin, supporting her quietly, and it was refreshing to see that at least that hadn't been lost through the years. Baatar wasn't a similar person to his wife, but he knew how to make her happy and how to support her goals and she always made sure to do the same for him.

Suyin, momentarily snapping out of her gloom, regaled Opal with the story of how Baatar had secretly taken dancing lessons to cheer her up after she disbanded the troupe, and how it had been his clumsy dancing that had managed to get her to laugh for the first time in weeks. Opal loved hearing about how her family, no matter how fragmented, still loved each other. She ate those words up and basked in it all.

It was so nice to be back here, even if her family was too anxious about the impending battle to really welcome her fully. Walking back to her bedroom, having eaten more food in two meals than she had for three years, she considered the future. She didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow but she knew she'd missed this place. Did Baatar? Did Kuvira? She found it hard to believe that they didn't, at least a little.

She wondered if that was why there were so intent on claiming Zaofu. But then again, with the amount of force they were bringing with them Opal felt like they wouldn't care if they tore the place to the ground in order to get it under their control. Opal couldn't understand why, and beneath all their empty platitudes, she knew they wouldn't tell her either.

All the same, Opal felt dreary and sentimental. In a few days, her brother and Kuvira would be back in Zaofu, and she wondered if they would they feel anything at all. She closed her eyes and remembered how it used to be. Opal's life had been so harmless and childish once. Bitterness squeezed her throat. With those thoughts, suddenly, her bed was too soft; the world was too quiet for her to be comfortable.

**171 AG**

She was nearly asleep when Kuvira paced into her room. Moonlight was drifting in through the open window along with a soft breeze, teasing and stirring the night air. It was the click of her door shutting that alerted Opal to Kuvira's presence. Opal sat up in her bed, pulling her sheets with her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. "Are we under attack?"

Kuvira stood there for a moment, the light making her skin shine. She looked surreal, like an apparition. Her face was blank but her eyes were searching. She walked closer to Opal with the grace and quiet of a dancer. Her silence worried Opal but there was something calming in the way Kuvira moved. She walked cautiously but not fearfully.

"No," the woman replied, sitting down on Opal's bed. Her weight made the mattress shift, gravity pooling around her in a way that made Opal's knees fall against her back. Kuvira turned her body, placing one hand by Opal's head, and looked down at the girl. Opal looked up at her, eyes wide. Kuvira smoothed Opal's hair behind her ear. Opal held her breath.

"Why are you in here?" she asked after a moment. Kuvira's lips suddenly broke into a smile. Opal watched her eyes, less apprehensive now and more interested. Kuvira bent down closer to Opal and the nonbender's back straightened. She wasn't sure what was going on. She didn't feel unsafe but this was something new, something unfamiliar. Kuvira now was eye-level with Opal, their lips were close enough to brush against each other.

"If you want me to leave," Kuvira said in a low voice, and trailed off. Shivers rippled across Opal's spine. Kuvira's pupils were so dilated that her eyes were black. She smelled sweet, like flowers and soap. She wasn't wearing her guard's uniform; she was dressed in her dance clothes. The moonlight hit her shoulder where the strap of her shirt had rolled down.

Kuvira leaned in closer and Opal pressed her hand to Kuvira's chest to halt her. Kuvira's skin was hot. Kuvira moved her face and leaned her forehead into the crook of Opal's neck. Opal gasped then bit her lip. Her hands moved to hold onto the backs of Kuvira's upper-arms, and she could feel the strength coiled there.

Kuvira's breath was hot on Opal's chest. Opal shifted in the bed and Kuvira pressed her down. She moved her legs onto the bed, kneeling between Opal's, and pressing her lips against Opal's neck. Opal let out a noise of surprise, and Kuvira kissed her again.

"Kuvira," Opal stuttered, voice shaking. "What are you doing?" She knew what Kuvira was doing. She was kissing Opal's neck, soft, hot kisses, over and over.

"Nothing," Kuvira answered, pausing to look up at Opal with shining eyes.

"Is there something wrong?" Opal asked again, but her hands were finding the edges of Kuvira's arms and were tugging her in closer. Kuvira nudged open Opal's legs with her knees, moving into the space she made there. One hand tilted Opal's face to look at her as her thumb slid across Opal's lip.

"Is there?" Kuvira asked. Opal could tell Kuvira was asking for permission, but the woman was leaning closer to Opal, caressing her face. Opal couldn't say no even if she knew what she was saying no to. Opal's breath shook in her lungs. Kuvira leaned down and pressed a firm kiss on the space between Opal's collarbones. Opal's fingers tightened on Kuvira's arms.

"Kuvira," she whispered. Kuvira kissed her again, on her neck, under her jaw, on her neck once more. Opal trembled as Kuvira lightly slid her tongue along Opal's jugular, and barely bit back a gasp when the woman gingerly nipped her skin. Wherever Kuvira touched her, Opal's skin sung.

The girl's hands abandoned Kuvira's arms and moved to cup the woman's face, stopping her mid-kiss. Kuvira's lips shone in the moonlight. She didn't move. Opal tucked her black hair behind her ear, marvelling at how soft it felt. Kuvira's body was so warm on Opal as she pressed her down into the sheets and her weight felt anchoring.

Opal threaded her arms around Kuvira's neck, pulling Kuvira's forehead to rest against her own. She could hardly breathe. She'd shut her eyes and she could almost hear Kuvira smile in the darkness. The metalbender ran her thumb idly across Opal's neck, calm and reassuring. Opal opened her eyes again.

She could barely see Kuvira but she could feel her. Her warm breath, the feel of her chest and stomach flat against Opal's, and the simple feeling of Kuvira watching her. Kuvira seeing her. Opal's arms wrapped tighter around Kuvira's neck, pulling her face closer to hers. Opal leaned into Kuvira's soft lips, and woke up in the same bed alone, disoriented and desperate.

Moonlight in Zaofu should have been the first sign.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: kissing, food/eating. Also: teenager/adult kissing, not real but I realized it could be upsetting.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**174 AG**

"Opal, Opal," one of the twins hissed, shaking Opal awake. Her room was still dark and her sheets were warm; she wanted to sleep. She twisted around in her bed, sleepily throwing a pillow at him, and shut her eyes tighter. Her brother was insistent, ripping away her bed sheets. Cold air bit Opal's skin and she was very tempted to use her bending on him.

"Opal!" he insisted, fingers pinching on her shoulder, shaking her roughly.

"What," she grumbled, sitting up in her bed and shrugging his hand off of her. She'd planned on sleeping in as late as she possibly could but her brother, Wing she thought, was bent on disturbing her rest. She rubbed her eyes with the butt of her palm before opening them, blearily, to look at him. The worry in his voice became apparent when she noticed his expression.

Gaining Opal's attention rendered Wing speechless. Opal rolled her legs over the side of her bed and looked at her brother. "Is she," she began.

"Yes," Wing said, breathless. That was enough.

Opal jumped out of bed and grabbed her uniform from off her chair. She pushed Wing out of the room and quickly changed into her Air Nomad uniform. Her mother had had it washed last night and while Asami had designed it to be stain and water resistant and not to absorb smells the cleaned uniform still felt better on her skin. Opal was too stressed out to properly appreciate it.

She raced downstairs and found her entire family sitting in her father and mother's joint office, gathered close together and looking lost. "Where is Kuvira?" Opal asked them breathlessly. Suyin's jaw twitched as she looked out the window to her darkened city.

"She hasn't arrived yet," Opal's father spoke up, voice gently breaking the buzzing silence. "Her army has." Opal glanced at her mother who said nothing, simply folded her arms. The warmth Opal had felt yesterday quickly shattered into the reality of war, the reality that Kuvira could take Zaofu and destroy it. Zaofu was built for defence, not offense, and they would be letting Kuvira into the city when she arrived.

There would be talks, and hopefully a battle could be avoided. Zaofu's domes were strong and made up almost entirely of platinum, but Kuvira had been the guard captain and knew the weaknesses and strengths of the city. The only thing keeping Kuvira from plucking Zaofu out of the Metal Clan's control was perhaps her image. Kuvira still wanted to look good to her people.

Everyone was too tense to sit and wait for the Great Uniter, but Opal wasn't going to let Kuvira intimidate her when she wasn't even in the room. She sat down on the table with the model her father and mother had created of their city so many years ago and she didn't get back to her feet until Kuvira entered the room, Baatar and Bolin in tow.

Opal acted coldly towards Bolin, no doubt wounding him. He'd turned her back on her when he'd sided with Kuvira, so she turned her back on him. Opal was furious with her boyfriend and she made sure he knew. Kuvira had her army outside Zaofu and he still refused to see that she was someone evil. Opal's heart was shredding itself; she and Bolin were as good as done.

Bolin still tried to sway her, and her family, even though they all knew it was futile. He was as enthusiastic as he'd been in his letters. He talked about how much they had helped the Earth Empire, about the progress they'd brought to towns across the nation. Opal shot him down by reminding him about the prison camps. Bolin refused to believe her. A small part of Opal was grateful that at least he hadn't known about them.

Kuvira was just as adamant about her cause as Bolin, but she was mysteriously silent about the camps. She became angry when Opal's mother accused her of bringing Bolin to try to manipulate them. Opal realized that Kuvira didn't want to think she could possibly be in the wrong. She thought it was all justified - using Bolin, Baatar, her entire army. She was derisive and defiant. Nothing was going to stop her from taking Zaofu.

Opal had forgotten just how dysfunctional her family could be, especially when they were angry at each other. Suyin and Kuvira were furious with each other and everyone else was either unwilling or too weak-mannered to step in. Suyin accused Kuvira of brainwashing Baatar Jr., Kuvira responded by saying she freed Baatar to accomplish more than he would in Zaofu. These talks were a formality but Suyin and Kuvira acted unprofessionally, even cruelly, towards each other.

Opal, still adept at blending into the background, took the opportunity to do so. She didn't want to think about Kuvira, who was just using these talks as a means to gloat and try to get Zaofu to surrender. Opal's mind wandered to her brother, standing strong and smirking by his fiancée's side. He'd said he had been living in their parents' shadow three years ago. Opal couldn't believe that he felt like that, he'd never given any indication of it.

It was clear that he felt injured by the way he'd been treated in Zaofu, though none of them had ever been treated particularly badly. As Kuvira strutted around the room, Opal chose to ignore her and watch her brother instead. She wished she could take him aside and talk to him, but she knew that when she'd yelled at Bolin for picking sides, she'd picked hers.

Opal should've tried harder with Baatar in the past, but he'd always fit in the family better than she had, nonbender or not. Despite being the only nonbending children in the Metal Clan, they'd never been particularly close. Opal had felt lonely as well at times, a misfit, but she'd never felt overshadowed. Opal had a hard time believing that Baatar, who had fit so neatly into the family, working with his father and constantly being praised by his mother, had felt bad back in Zaofu.

Opal's eyes fell on the miniature model of Zaofu and combed through the extensions that had been added in later years by Baatar and his father. Perhaps the reason she'd never felt overshadowed was that she had never tried too hard to be accepted. She'd never thought she needed to. Her family loved her, even if she wasn't Zaofu's ideal citizen. They loved Baatar as well but perhaps he hadn't felt it. Had he ever wanted to be an engineer, or was it just something he used to get closer to his father?

Suyin loved all of her children but she showed her love clearest when she was boasting about them. Her nonbending son working as an engineer had definitely made her proud. Opal herself had rarely been on the receiving end of that praise but her mother had always made sure Opal knew that she was loved. However, the only daughter had likely been coddled more than the eldest son.

Suyin lashed out angrily but Opal could tell his words were eating at her. While both Baatar and Opal were nonbenders, Opal had always known that their relationship to that was different. Baatar had accomplished many useful things, gaining scientific and mathematical knowledge that most benders wouldn't bother with and applying it to help others. Opal read, danced badly, talked to people. She'd been a good person but other than that useless.

And this uselessness had bothered Opal for a long time when she was younger. Opal realized that not only had she probably been treated differently since she was the baby girl in the family, but that her relationship with her grandmother also likely had affected her self-worth. Grandma Toph and Suyin had not reconciled with each other until Baatar was already busy learning how to be an engineer.

Opal, on the other hand, had been doted on by the world's first metalbender. Grandma Toph, whenever she had visited, had spent most of her time with one of the few nonbenders in the metal city and told her stories about brave, famous nonbenders like Sokka, Ty Lee, Suki, Mai, and many others. Without that, without being given such first-hand representation of how nonbenders could be good people who could help others, Opal couldn't be sure of how she'd turned out otherwise.

Since it had taken so long for her grandmother and mother to reconcile with each other, Opal suspected Baatar had never been given that foundation. If that was true, then the only representation of a nonbender that he had was his father. Perhaps this explanation was simplistic, most likely it was just Opal desperately trying to excuse her brother. He was still her family, but he was acting cruelly and callously. If this was true, it wouldn't excuse what he was doing now but it would explain it.

It didn't matter. Kuvira left with the threat of twenty-four hours. Baatar didn't even say goodbye. Opal knew that the first time he and Kuvira had left Zaofu they'd left with good intentions. Opal felt scared now. If this was just him getting back at his family then she was worried about how he'd treat people in the empire he and Kuvira were trying to make.

With the talks finished, Opal realized that she hadn't gotten any better indication of why Kuvira needed Zaofu so badly. Or why Bolin hadn't left Kuvira's side even while she was threatening Zaofu with an invasion. All Opal knew was that she couldn't sit and wait twenty-four hours for Kuvira to come and take Zaofu.

When Korra arrived Opal was momentarily distracted. She hadn't seen the Avatar in years, she thought she'd been healing with the Southern Water Tribe but now she was here. Korra didn't have time to catch up. She wanted to help, and Opal was sure Korra could mediate in a way none of the Beifongs were capable of. However, she was just as sure that Kuvira would not negotiate. Kuvira had had so many opportunities to turn back in the past that Opal doubted that even the Avatar could make her stop.

Korra and Suyin were talking in the courtyard but Opal felt antsy. According to Korra, the enemy outside was huge; composed of hundreds of soldiers and mechasuits. Opal doubted that as an Air Nomad she could do anything against them but she'd been herself longer than she'd been an airbender. There was still something she could do.

She spotted Huan walking in front of her outside the estate, probably headed to his studio. She hadn't really had a chance to catch up with him as much as she'd have liked to but she didn't have time now, not when she had to leave again. "Huan," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder to catch his attention. He turned around and let her hug him.

"You need my help," he deduced. She looked up at him guiltily. He'd dyed his hair green now. It looked good.

"What do you need?" he asked, Beifong loyalty overriding the insult he knew she hadn't intended. "Help me get outside," she said.

Huan glared at her. "What do you need outside?" he asked. He was right to be suspicious.

"I need to talk to Kuvira," Opal said. She'd avoided thinking about Kuvira when the woman was in the room but Kuvira's presence was becoming unavoidable. Opal needed to confront her.

"Do you think you can change her mind?" Huan asked dubiously, already beginning to walk towards the edge of the dome. "I know you guys got along before all this . . ." Huan always seemed off in his own world, thinking intensely on his current project, but he noticed more than most people gave him credit for.

"I, I don't know," Opal said. "But I need to talk to her."

"She might take you," he pointed out, hands feeling the walls to find a break in platinum.

"If she does then Zaofu and Korra will have justification to attack her," Opal said. "She won't take me. And even if she tried, she couldn't. Please Huan, I know what I'm doing." She didn't and he could tell. All the same, he pulled open a section of Zaofu. She knew it irritated Huan to use his bending for something so pedestrian.

"I'll be here," he rolled his eyes as she stepped through the hole he'd made.

"You don't have to," Opal said. "I can -" But Huan had gotten bored and started melding the metal back together. "Thanks," she said as he sealed the hole. The last glance she got of his face told her he was worried. She stared at the metal, stitched back together immaculately. "I'll be safe," she said, even while he couldn't hear. She had to have a word with Kuvira.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**174 AG**

Outside the dome it was too sunny and cheery. It was the kind of day that was perfect for hiking up in the mountains, not making war. Kuvira's army were congregated in an almost straight line on either side of the railway and Opal followed the line into the distance. It took her about twenty minutes to reach the main camp.

Most of the soldiers didn't do anything as she approached and subsequently passed them, they just watched her walk by. It surprised Opal; the red of her uniform probably warded them off. However, by the time she neared Kuvira's tent a few soldiers had finally broken formation and grabbed her, holding her with harsher force than was necessary.

"Let me go," she snarled at them. "Let go of me!" There were three of them with their hands on her and they refused. Opal yanked her arms out of their grasps but they held her fast, uncertain with what to do with her. Then, to brighten her day further, Bolin came plodding on up to them.

"Hey, let Opal go!" he said, physically disentangling the soldiers from Opal. He was the last person Opal wanted to see and the last person she wanted to help her. She folded her arms.

"She's trespassing," one of the other soldiers said.

"We don't own this place," Bolin said, brow wrinkling in confusion. "She can go wherever she wants. And she's an Air Nomad, you can't just - " While they were talking another soldier had seized Opal, pissing her off even more.

"Stop it, Bolin," she said, pausing her struggle for a moment to snap at him. "Don't defend the enemy." Bolin looked like he'd been slapped. Opal felt a little guilty but she bit it down; she had nothing to feel guilty about. At that moment, Kuvira came pacing up to them and Bolin almost unconsciously stepped back to make way for her.

"No, no," Kuvira said authoritatively. "Let her pass." Her soldiers let Opal go just as Opal wrenched her arm back from them. "Come on, Opal," Kuvira said, posture relaxed. "Let's talk in private." Kuvira knew what she was here for. Bolin looked after Opal with confusion and she fixed him with most withering expression she could muster. She glared at the soldiers one last time and followed Kuvira into her tent.

As soon as Kuvira shut the door Opal turned on her. "Get out of Zaofu," Opal said, voice shaking with barely controlled rage. Seeing Bolin defer to Kuvira so obediently even, after he'd witnessed Kuvira threatening Zaofu directly, had only gotten Opal more furious. She couldn't stand to see Kuvira so in control like this.

"I'm not in Zaofu," Kuvira said, a little smirk touching on her lips. The implication hung heavy and threateningly in the air. She was gloating.

"Why are you doing this?" Opal hissed.

"Zaofu has abstained for long enough," Kuvira said, losing her good humour. "It's time this city acts on its responsibilities to the Earth Nation."

"So you're going to force us to work for you?" Opal asked. "Why do you want to turn Zaofu into another factory for your Empire?"

"I don't," Kuvira said. "Opal, what you've seen, what you've been calling slave labour, I hope you realize that I'm not the only one that will benefit from what they produce. My people's service to the Empire is only temporary until the entire nation has been stabilized. Everything we're creating is for the Empire's benefit, including the workers."

"What about your dissenters?" Opal asked, unwilling to let Kuvira's justifications distract her. "You're doing just what the Earth Queen did. You're not a real leader. You're just another coward that got a hold on some power."

Kuvira sighed, discontent. "It disappoints me that you think like that."

"It disappoints me that you want to do this to Zaofu," Opal said. Kuvira looked at her coldly.

"You had a problem with me long before this," she said. "Tell me what's really bothering you, Opal. Is it that your little boyfriend knew that the only way he could help the world was through me? That all your training was essentially useless because in the end _I'm_ going to be the one who changes this world, not _you_ , and not your Avatar." Kuvira's eyes were bright with cold excitement.

"Perhaps you could still rally the troops, but I don't see them coming to your aid," she added. "From where I stand the only way you can be of any use to the people of this Nation is by joining us. But you're too proud to do that." Kuvira was one to talk about pride but Opal held her tongue even while she was shaking with rage. Kuvira smiled at her as though she'd just realized something.

"Opal," she said patronizingly, a grin growing sharper on her lips. "Don't be upset that you didn't come with me three years ago. You could still -" Opal reeled her arm back and landed her fist down on Kuvira's jaw, punching her so hard the thwack of Kuvira's head on the wall behind her sounded through the air.

Opal fell off Kuvira, clutching her hand that stung with a jagged, crawling pain. Kuvira turned to her side and spat out blood. Kuvira hadn't seen it coming; she must have bit her tongue. She looked up at Opal cautiously, wiping her mouth. Opal had never hit anything so hard in her life. Opal felt horrified and disgusted.

"I'm sorry," she blurted, stepping away from Kuvira and turning to run.

"Opal, wait," Kuvira said, stepping off of the wall and walking over to Opal. Opal paused, running her fingers along her stinging knuckles. "I don't blame you for being angry with me," she said even while a little blood seeped out of her mouth. "You don't understand yet."

"You shouldn't," Opal said quietly. She turned around, all feelings of remorse burning away. Hitting Kuvira was childish but Kuvira held thousands of lives in her hands so Opal didn't have time to feel bad. "And I don't! You have my brother, my boyfriend, you're trying to invade our city, and you _lied_ to me!" Kuvira looked at her with a soft expression, feeling her jaw with her gloved hand. She wasn't even listening to Opal.

Opal advanced on the metalbender, determined on making her hear what Opal was saying. "You betrayed me. You lied to me after you said that you wouldn't, and you took those I love from me!" Opal's hands were shaking. "And I admired and cared for you _so_ much and you still did those things, you're still going to take Zaofu and destroy it for your own goals! How could you do this? Why are you doing this?"

"Opal," Kuvira said, voice breaking. She wanted to defend herself but she knew that if she tried lying again Opal was going to leave. Instead she cupped Opal's face in both palms and Opal shuddered. She hadn't expected this. The material Kuvira's gloves were soft on her cheeks, and her hands felt so strong. This wasn't good.

Opal was always forgetting how much she craved this kind of attention when she was a little younger. How could Kuvira use that against her? "No, don't touch me," she whimpered. Kuvira held her in place with her hands, trying to get Opal's attention. "No, let go," Opal begged. Kuvira refused to; instead she tilted Opal's face towards her and tried to make eye contact.

Kuvira couldn't possibly know how easy it would be to get Opal to crumble. With all her righteous anger Opal's oldest memories of Kuvira were kind ones. She knew, rationally, that Kuvira was a horrible person, a dictator, a liar, and even now she had acted vindictive, manipulative, and arrogant. But Kuvira only had to look at Opal with the same gentle expression she'd worn in Zaofu and all Opal realized that Kuvira's insinuations weren't entirely unfair.

"Opal," Kuvira repeated. "Please, listen -" Opal couldn't wrench out of her grasp by herself, but she needed to get Kuvira to let go of her face. Kuvira grabbed her hands. Opal needed to get out. This was a mistake, she needed to leave, but Kuvira wasn't letting her go and was holding her tighter. This had to stop and impulsively, out of options, Opal gripped Kuvira's uniform and pulled her against her, leaned up and tasted blood.

Kuvira let go.

Opal flushed. She didn't know why she'd kissed Kuvira, but it had worked. Kuvira, who'd been gripping tender bruises into her wrists, was standing a few steps away from Opal and staring like she was looking at a stranger. Opal felt viciously glad that they shared that feeling. Kuvira looked at Opal, chest heaving, and the feeling evaporated.

For some reason Opal couldn't move. She was free to run now but something kept her there, waiting, even while Kuvira stayed still. Opal felt self-conscious in Kuvira's gaze. Her own breathing was heavy. She wanted to push her hair behind her ears but her hands were still shaking. Kuvira's blood was on her lips. It tasted like metal.

Suddenly, Kuvira had walked up to Opal again and pressed her mouth against the airbender's, pulling her into her arms. Opal balked but Kuvira held onto her, moving her lips against her in a way that made Opal gasp out loud. Kuvira pressed Opal against the metal wall of her tent and continued to kiss her like she couldn't think of an alternative.

Opal couldn't think at all, her mind had gone blank. She could scream for help but she wasn't sure she wanted to. She wasn't in danger, even as Kuvira moved closer against her, one hand sliding down her side and resting on the small of her back. Her hands were free, she could blast Kuvira across the room and run away and she knew Kuvira wouldn't try to capture her but . . . she didn't. She was letting Kuvira, her future sister-in-law, the Great Uniter, kiss her. And suddenly, she was kissing her back.

Opal moaned into Kuvira's mouth when Kuvira bit her lip and she pressed herself into Kuvira, her arms wrapping around the taller woman's waist. Kuvira's mouth tasted like blood, and her mouth was harsh on Opal's. She wasn't angry or forgiving about the injury, but Opal knew it must hurt Kuvira to kiss her. She was actually kissing her.

Opal couldn't think about it. She didn't even know what she was doing. The more she and Kuvira kissed, the less Kuvira tasted like blood and pain and the more she tasted like something familiar, something human. Beneath the tangy taste that Opal's anger had left in her mouth, Kuvira tasted sweet and clean and somehow perfect.

And it shouldn't have felt right, Kuvira's bloody teeth and smooth gloves and hands tugging on Opal's waist, bringing her closer, pressing her into the wall, drawing Opal's will to leave out through her mouth, but it did. It felt so right. Kuvira's lips were softer, and her kisses were harder, than what Opal had imagined. She was gutted with the realization of how often she had imagined it.

Opal tugged Kuvira closer, desperate for a deeper kiss. Pulling Kuvira against her caused the metalbender's knee to slip between Opal's legs and knock against the wall. Through the thick layers of her Air Nomad uniform Opal could feel Kuvira's thigh beneath her. Kuvira kissed her and unintentionally moved her leg, setting a spark burning in Opal's stomach. Opal's hips jumped, and Kuvira noticed.

She thrust Opal against the wall, sliding her leg between Opal's again, and Opal couldn't help but move on Kuvira's thigh, her breathing cutting off and restarting sporadically. Her cheeks were hot; she felt dizzy. Kuvira held Opal's hips, guiding her movements on her leg, continuing to kiss her. Opal felt herself getting increasingly shameless, dangerously slow. She could feel Kuvira's chest pressing tightly against her own, flattened in the confines of her clothes.

Kuvira's hand hoisted up Opal's leg and she pressed herself down onto Opal's thigh, still kissing her. Opal's hands tightened on her Kuvira's waist; she could feel every roll and twitch of the taller woman's hips and Opal whimpered. Kuvira put her palm on Opal's chest and kissed her deeper, moving up and down Opal's leg, nudging Opal into the wall. Her hand on Opal's breast was massing it gently, thumb flicking against her nipple. Opal's legs were losing strength but Kuvira was there, holding her up, crowding her against the metal wall, and kissing her like it was the only thing keeping Opal in place.

But no matter how good Kuvira's hand felt on her, Opal wanted it out of the way. She wrapped her arms around Kuvira's neck and kissed Kuvira as hard as she could. Kuvira grunted and her mouth fell open, surprised at Opal's forcefulness. Opal trailed her tongue across Kuvira's lips, making a little noise at the back of her throat. Kuvira's hand stopped moving, it just gripped Opal's possessively. Opal traced Kuvira's lips and bit her lower lip as gently as she could, pulling it into her mouth. The breath stuttered in Kuvira's lungs. Opal knew that Kuvira could feel her heart beating against her bones. She couldn't tell if she was excited or afraid.

Kuvira's hand finally abandoned Opal's chest, leaving Opal free to press herself against the metalbender. They were both wearing so many layers but Opal could swear she felt every inch of the older woman. The hand the Kuvira wasn't using to support Opal's thigh found the small of Opal's back and stroked her there. The move sent chills across Opal's body, it felt unfairly intimate.

Kuvira kissed her slower now, guiding Opal's movements on her leg. It drove Opal past the point of thinking when she felt Kuvira's hips twitch when she rode her thigh; and Opal's hips twitched so often now. Her lungs felt heavy with, with something, with Kuvira, Opal's head was growing light and her vision was spotting. She couldn't stop kissing her. She'd forgotten everything else; it just felt so cathartic to kiss Kuvira, to be kissed by her.

Kuvira was the first to pull away. Opal leaned automatically forward, chasing Kuvira's lips, and finding only air. Kuvira pushed her back against the wall, breathing shakily. Opal opened her eyes a little. Kuvira's lips were puffy and Opal nearly moaned again. Kuvira's mouth was no longer bloody, and Opal could barely see the red mark from where she'd struck her. This was so wrong.

Opal put her hand on Kuvira's jaw, trying to apologize wordlessly; she couldn't speak yet. Her lungs were raw, lips swollen. Everywhere Kuvira had touched her seemed to sting and ache for something. Kuvira pressed her forehead against Opal's, breathing heavily. Opal would wonder later if Kuvira was manipulating her but Kuvira was trying to hide her hands from Opal. They were trembling.

"Opal," Kuvira said, voice hoarse. The moment shattered and Opal realized what had just happened. She pushed Kuvira off of her and did what she should have in the first place. She ran away, gathering speed until her heart felt like it was bruising the inside of her ribs, until her lungs shuddered in her chest, until she reached the domes of Zaofu.

No one pursued her, Kuvira must have given orders for them not to. It seemed like not even Bolin had noticed, something Opal couldn't express her gratitude about. She sought the dome she'd come from and Huan was there where she'd left him, waiting to let her in. He didn't ask her questions, he knew that whatever she'd tried to do wasn't successful but she'd survived. Opal was up in her room before she wiped her mouth and found flakes of red and brown coming off on her hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: blood, violence, kissing  
> Other notes: Thanks for all the comments! I would reply to them all but I have a thing about replying to every comment when the comment counter includes my own. Every review encourages me and makes me think, so thank you for that. Your thoughts are always appreciated.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**174 AG**

When Kuvira took her mother and her brothers, and Korra tried to suggest that it was justified, Opal tasted a new depth of rage. Korra had put her hand on Opal's shoulder and Opal had jerked her arm away, unable to stand the touch. She had told Korra to kill Kuvira, in not so few words. She had wanted Kuvira dead.

Opal was not an angry person, but she was becoming one, and she hated it how it felt on her. In the time between kissing Kuvira and nearly killing her, Opal hadn't slept at all. She'd lain down in her bed, waiting for the sun to rise. When the light finally climbed over the mountains Opal got to her feet as well, aching with exhaustion. She and Jinora joined Korra at the negotiations everyone knew would be nonnegotiable except Korra, who still had hope.

Opal was unable to see the optimism Korra contained until it was too late. Standing out in the field, Kuvira taking the time to mock them even though the situation was lethal, Opal and her mother both insisted Korra go into the Avatar state to fight her. Korra had refused at first, but her plans melted from negotiations to a one-on-one fight.

But Korra's body was too weak and her mind too reluctant; Kuvira brutalized her. Korra had never directly killed anyone before, but murder wasn't something distant from the avatar. Mako had suffered depression for years after he killed Ming Hua, and Opal suspected that it was one of the reasons he'd slowly stopped being a cop. He couldn't bear to take a life even if it was for a good reason, even if the life was a criminal's.

Avatars had murdered as well; in the end they were just people with their own strengths and flaws. And going into the state was more than just a pooling of powers and experiences, but of responsibility. Opal knew distantly that Korra no longer had any connections with her past lives, but the Avatar State still brought her power. When Korra finally went into the Avatar state, she took a boulder over her head large enough to block out the sun.

In the past, generations of Avatars would have held the gigantic rock, some killers some not, but only Korra remained and she'd flinched and let the rock fall and herself fall with it. Opal was surprised, but she shouldn't have been. Korra had wanted so badly to negotiate with Kuvira; something had changed in the three years Opal hadn't seen the other woman. Opal's surprise should have been reserved for other things.

Korra, sluggish with regret, had ripped the rocks from the earth and agreed to fight. In the moment where Korra paused, haunted by whatever had happened to her three years ago, Opal found herself in a similar situation. Opal stepped forward, eyes on Korra and the rocks hovering above her head, Kuvira's broken form on the ground in her peripheral.

This was perhaps the moment that scared the Opal the most because she was hit so strongly with a brutal, foreign feeling. She couldn't recognize it as wanting Korra to stop, or wishing for her to hurry up and bring the rock down onto Kuvira. It didn't matter, in the end. When Korra fell so did the feeling, and Opal refused to honestly question it.

Things had happened too fast. Opal had no time to think about what had happened between her and Kuvira. Not that it even mattered, all she could focus on was the fact that Kuvira had taken Opal's mother and the only brothers she had left. Kuvira had also nearly decapitated Korra with sharpened blades of metal, forcing Opal and Jinora into action. Kuvira had then used their defence of Korra as an excuse to take Zaofu. Opal couldn't afford to think about the kiss or she'd lose her focus. Kuvira had to be stopped.

So, instead, she thought about Bolin. When Jinora and Ikki had grabbed Opal as she had called out to her family, sobbing and screaming, she hadn't seen him at Kuvira's side. Everyone looked the same in uniform but Kuvira had said that he wasn't there. If he had been Kuvira would've gloated so Opal believed it. However, Opal had to trust that Bolin wouldn't still stand by someone who had hurt Opal so much, even if Kuvira had suggested otherwise.

Kuvira had said that he was working with Baatar on something, but more importantly that he was on board with what she was doing. It had to be a lie. Kuvira had accused Opal of not knowing how Bolin had grown up since they'd been apart, something she must have inferred was an insecurity of Opal's, and perhaps Bolin's as well. Whether it was the truth or not it was unreasonably petty of her.

Opal was certain that that brand of cruelty wasn't beneath the Great Uniter, not when she'd taken almost everything Opal had ever loved. The few things left that Opal loved and that were still free had held Opal fast, not allowing her to jump down to her family, until she finally gave up with a yell that she would come back for them. Kuvira had taken her family, she'd taken Zaofu, she' taken everything. Opal was dull with grief. She'd cried and Ikki and Jinora had held her until she'd fallen asleep.

When she woke up later, it was dark out and Ikki was still holding her with her small, cold fingers. The sky was dark purple-grey, clouds wisped by them like spirits. Opal's eyes combed the horizon and found a small, pink sliver of sun. Ikki's body was warm but her hands were cool on Opal's aching forehead. She was too tired to tell Ikki how much she loved her.

Opal's eyes burned when she glanced around to find Jinora. She could barely see her in the darkness but Jinora's pose told Opal that she had projected herself somewhere and was communicating with someone. Her posture told Opal that she was worried. She wished Jinora didn't have to be, the girl already had too much pressure on her.

Opal found Korra in the twilight. She was struck with how good it was to see her again, even if they'd never really had time to catch up properly. Korra was sitting on the edge of Pepper, her legs no doubt dangling over. She was looking in the distance, quieter and more thoughtful than Opal had ever seen her. Opal wondered if she'd seen her friends since her return. She looked exhausted.

Meelo was quiet for once; silent but alert at the reigns of the bison. Opal didn't have the energy to guess or ask where he was taking them, and she wanted to continue to pretend to be asleep so that Ikki would comfort her still. Opal felt so alone but she felt so grateful to have them at her side even if she'd lost everything else.

**171 AG**

She'd spent the days following the dream avoiding Kuvira and trying not to let her know that she was avoiding her. It was even more embarrassing than the time she'd walked in on Kuvira and her friend having sex, which Opal got over relatively quickly when Kuvira seemed to not have noticed. This time, though Kuvira would have no way of knowing and it still wasn't Opal's fault, Opal felt guiltier and more awkward than ever before.

Whenever she saw Kuvira it just reminded her of that dream and Opal really didn't want to deal with the embarrassment she felt whenever that happened. However, it wasn't like she could evade Kuvira forever and one day when Opal was walking back from meeting with some friends Kuvira spotted her and called her over. Opal didn't want to insult her by running away. She stood stock still as Kuvira approached her, expression light.

"You've been avoiding me," the woman said, somewhat playfully.

"No I haven't," Opal said, but her blush told the truth. Opal hated being so transparent sometimes. Kuvira laughed awkwardly.

"Look," she said. "I know I'm older than you. If I've been bothering you, or pressuring you -"

"No!" Opal blurted. "That's not it!" Kuvira had never been inappropriate, if anyone had it had been Opal. Kuvira was definitely not the problem and Opal didn't want her to feel bad but there was no really good way of saying 'I had a dream where we kissed and whenever I see you I think about it'.

Kuvira watched her curiously and a little sadly. She didn't believe Opal. Opal clasped her hands together. "It's just a weird time," she explained. "The world almost ended because of what went on in Republic City. I just feel . . . off. It's not your fault." It wasn't totally a lie but it still made Opal feel bad. Opal didn't like lying but she'd hate telling Kuvira the entire truth even more.

"Well," Kuvira said, cautiously. "Do you want to practice today?" Opal smiled, relieved that even with all her awkwardness Kuvira still wanted to deal with her. Opal couldn't help but feel ashamed about the dream, thinking about a woman who had been nothing but kind to her in that way, but it was still just a dream and not totally under her control.

"Yeah," Opal grinned, and Kuvira's facial expression softened.

"I have some time free now, my shift isn't until later tonight," she said. Opal nodded eagerly. Kuvira smiled back and started walking, Opal following in silence. It was still kind of uncomfortable, but not  
as bad as Opal had thought it would be. At least Kuvira kind of bought her excuse, or chose to give up when she realized that Opal didn't actually want to avoid her.

It was still pretty embarrassing for Opal, though. She hadn't thought about Kuvira this way before, or she'd tried not to, or something like that. Dreams didn't mean anything, and Opal was the only one who was making it weird. Hanging out with Kuvira would make things normal again, and Opal wanted that more than anything right now.

Kuvira bended the tall, heavy doors open, and left them like that. Opal headed over to the record player in the corner of the room, putting on the song they'd been practicing. When there was no one else around they practiced in the main room; Opal hadn't wanted to at first because she couldn't see herself but Kuvira assured her dancing was easier when you weren't always studying yourself, and it was.

Light, from the lamps exterior to the building, was cast through the long windows that framed the room. It was enough for them to see, but it made the room look strange and dreamlike. Kuvira smiled a little, looking around the interior of the place. She quirked an eyebrow at Opal. "Do you want to use one of the back rooms?" she asked. There weren't any lamps in the main room. Opal shrugged.

"If you want to," she said. She didn't mind either way.

"I guess not," Kuvira said, begin to strip off her guard's uniform and pacing over to Opal. "We can see enough in here, and I don't think you need to practice with mirrors anymore." Opal ducked her head, smiling at the praise.

Opal tried to see if it reminded her of that dream and it didn't really. It was better this way; she couldn't really see Kuvira's face since most of it was obscured in shadows. The lights outside were quite bright, casting a yellow sheen on the floor. Kuvira also was wearing her guard's uniform and her braid was coiled up in a little bun. They'd danced in this room before, but it was all foreign enough to keep Opal's mind off that night, and off the dream.

Kuvira put her arms up and with that gesture they started dancing together. Since she'd been avoiding Kuvira, Opal hadn't been practicing and had gotten a little rusty, but she sprung back with surprising ease. Kuvira made a familiar motion that Opal mimicked as they circled each other. It felt good to dance with the metalbender again, relaxing back into the comfortable relationship that they shared.

Opal had been worried that she'd really offended Kuvira by avoiding her. She apparently hadn't, but she was glad that Kuvira had been cautious about pressuring Opal. Kuvira was ridiculously nice and patient but if she started acting weird Opal would be the first person to let her know, and Opal hoped she knew that. Even though Opal was shy, she wasn't a pushover, especially when she liked someone.

It was odd, but if Opal didn't like someone who was acting strange, she wouldn't bother with them. She expected better things from the people she did get along with, and even though she admired Kuvira Opal wouldn't let her do whatever she wanted. Kuvira had never crossed any boundary and while they danced together in the darkness and yellow lights of Zaofu Opal felt safe.

The movements of dancing had kicked some joy into her chest, and Opal was relieved that she could put those embarrassing moments and dreams behind her. But beneath those giddy feelings, there was something deeper, calmer. There was a huge difference between being safe and feeling safe and right now, dancing with Kuvira, Opal felt totally protected and calm. Kuvira suddenly paused dancing and Opal nearly walked into her.

"That's strange," Kuvira said. Opal stumbled a little and stopped dancing.

"What?" Opal asked. She thought she'd been dancing pretty well, all things considered.

"A breeze." Kuvira's brow furrowed as she glanced around. "The dome has been secured. I shouldn't feel any wind." She glanced behind her at the open door, Opal watched her. It didn't seem like there was any wind; the room was still.

"I didn't feel anything," Opal said. Kuvira glanced back and her and relented, shifting out of her guard posture. Kuvira, Opal had noticed, was never really off-duty. Even now, she was armed to the teeth, with ropes of metal still coiled around her waist, prepared for anything.

"I guess so," she said uneasily. "Again?" she asked. Opal nodded eagerly. She'd really gotten the hang of the dance Kuvira had taught her. It was still a lot more basic than the kind of dances Kuvira was used to, especially since it didn't involve bending, but Opal was still proud of how far she'd come.

Kuvira was teaching Opal a few more complex dances, but Kuvira had started moving the way she'd first taught Opal to since they hadn't danced together for awhile. Opal had refined some of the moves she'd learned and they came easier to her somehow after the time away from practice. Smoothly, her hands sliced through the air to pull at something unseen. She kept her movements as fluid as she could and soon had found the rhythm again. Kuvira stopped the dance.

"No, I swear I felt a breeze," she said, voice tense. "I'm sorry," she added, glancing at Opal. "There must be a breach in security." Opal nodded understandingly. "Except," Kuvira said, eyes narrowing on Opal. "Have you heard about the new airbenders?"

Opal nodded again. It was big news in Zaofu right now. Avatar Korra had left open the Spirit Portal created by Harmonic Convergence; this had somehow had the effect of awakening bending abilities dormant in many nonbenders. Kuvira stared at Opal until Opal understood what she was getting at. "No way," Opal sputtered.

"Try," Kuvira insisted. "Many of the dances we do in Zaofu include movements we use in bending. It would make sense if you bended accidentally."

"You better check for those breaches," Opal flushed. Kuvira looked regretfully at Opal. "I'll try, though," Opal assured her. Kuvira nodded, and lifting one hand she snapped her uniform on, becoming a professional guard again. She left Opal alone to look at her hands.

She'd felt the breeze the second time. Had it really come from her? Opal laughed. That was impossible. Opal wasn't a bender, much less an airbender. Still, she'd promised Kuvira she'd try, and it couldn't hurt. Much.

The last time Opal had tried to bend was when she was around eleven years old. It was the same day Wei and Wing demonstrated their own abilities; a celebratory meal had been made as was customary. Opal had crept away from the celebration and stood outside in the courtyard. She then mimicked all the bending movements she could think of for hours until her father found her, curled up and crying.

Her father picked her up, put her to bed, and told her exactly what she needed to hear that night. That the ability to bend didn't make someone a good person and that she was more than that ability. He reminded her that everyone in her family loved her and was proud of her and that no one would be disappointed if she was never able to bend. His kind words had helped a lot; she had never cried over bending since that day.

But perhaps that was why she'd always had such a problem with dancing. It had always felt as forced to her as when she'd tried bending. Still, even while Opal was honestly fine about never being able to bend now, it still hurt a little to try. But airbending, huh? It would be kind of cool if it was true.

She began to dance by herself in the room, trying to get comfortable in her body. What had Kuvira said about bending? Listening to your body . . . and finding a rhythm. Opal closed her eyes, and moved to the music, automatically. She concentrated her thoughts on the way her body felt, from her lungs, heart, and fingertips. Her heart beat louder in her ears and the music swelled.

Then she felt it. A wisp of movement on her palms. Opal gasped. She mimicked the movement she'd made. She felt it again. It was so little, but it was there, and when it faded Opal was too shocked to pick it up again. She could bend. She could airbend. Opal suddenly was holding in her hands power she hadn't known before, with no idea how to use it.

She heard Kuvira's footsteps outside the studio. "The dome is secure," Kuvira said, her voice echoing across the huge room, breathless. Her gaze fell on Opal's hands, which were shaking a little. Kuvira's mouth quirked in an awkward smile and she looked up at Opal's face with an expression that was both understanding and inquisitive. Opal realized it then. Things were going to change.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**174 AG**

When Opal had finally gathered her bearings she discovered that the bison Meelo was flying was Pepper, his own animal. She would've worried about Lefty but Kai's bison had trailed behind them and caught up by the time Opal woke up. She couldn't have helped him back in Zaofu and she was unbelievably grateful that he was alright. She didn't want to think that Kuvira's army would've hurt the bison if they'd discovered him in the stables, so she didn't.

It was pointless for Lefty to follow them if he could go back to Kai, but he seemed unwilling to deviate from the group. Opal offered to escort him back. Jinora insisted that Lefty could find his own way home; every bison was very intelligent and had a better internal map than most humans did. All the same, Lefty wouldn't budge from their side even though Opal _knew_ he wanted to be with his partner.

Opal understood why Jinora didn't want her to leave and even agreed with her reasoning. However, Opal was not going to pursue her family. Jinora, her siblings, and Korra were going back to Republic City; they weren't going to help free the Beifongs right away. Opal was just as passionate as her mother but she liked to think she wasn't as reckless; she'd wait until they would help her get her family back. She couldn't save them by herself.

Opal and the people who could help her were useless to each other in Republic City. Opal could do nothing for them and as long as they stayed in Republic City she would get no aid from them. It was just as well that she should be the one to coax Lefty back to the Northern Air Temple, and she wanted to spend some time with the bison anyway. She wanted to see Kai again.

Opal missed her own air bison as well. She and Kai would alternate between their bisons every mission for fairness and to let the bisons rest. It had been a few weeks since she'd seen Juicy. She was sure he'd be happy to see her too and be eager to help. That was one defined quality of Juicy, other than his weepy immune system; he wanted to help more than anyone, human or animal.

Korra eventually convinced Jinora to let Opal go with Lefty. She was apologetic; she hadn't intended to lose at Zaofu. Opal never blamed her, she'd just been surprised. She realized now that she shouldn't have been; Zaheer had hurt Korra immeasurably and had put the girl out of commission for three years. She shouldn't have expected Korra to fix everything all at once, but Opal still held faith that Korra would eventually be able to.

Opal broke off from the group, loaded with a few lunches Pema had prepared for her children and the promise to return to Republic City after Lefty was back with Kai. When Opal was securely on his back, Lefty started moving automatically in the direction of the Northern Air Temple, he already knew the way. Opal let Lefty fly by himself, turning around and folding her arms.

She watched the skies glumly as the cold wind whipped her skin. She was still aching from the events at Zaofu. She hoped her family was alright. She didn't like to think that Kuvira would hurt them, but she never thought Kuvira would ever do such a thing in the first place so Opal couldn't say for sure.

She knew her family was resilient though, even the meeker members like her father and Huan. They were all strong, and she knew her mother would protect them all and bear the brunt of any pain inflicted on them. Thinking like that made Opal feel sick with worry so she turned around and dug her face into the soft fur on Lefty's head, hugging him.

Through bison's thick down Opal noticed something snaking beneath them through the trees. She propped herself up and peered over Lefty. Something silver and thin shone in the forests below them. Opal's fingers gripped the bison's fur. It was Kuvira's train. It was heading in the same direction as they were, so for awhile Opal had an excuse to follow them as she pretended that she wasn't.

When the train finally slipped off into the distance Opal had to admit to herself that she'd been pursuing it. They'd followed it for a few kilometres but it was too fast for them. Reluctantly, she righted Lefty's course. They hadn't deviated too far from the direction they'd been heading in anyway.

Opal had to remind herself of the goal, the Northern Air Temple. Juicy, Kai. Korra would help bring down Kuvira eventually, people would help Opal get her family free. She couldn't let it get personal. But it was personal and beneath her Opal realized the train had paused. Kuvira had stopped for some reason and as Opal and Lefty passed overhead she realized she had to make a decision.

Lefty had kept true to his course, flying over the train, but listened when Opal signalled him to land. They settled on the ground somewhere within the forest next to the train. She could see the glint of metal through the trees but they wouldn't notice her unless they were really looking.

Opal couldn't help but wonder if Bolin was on that train. She knew Kuvira was. Anger suddenly flushed through her body. They had just left Zaofu like nothing had happened. She wanted to find Kuvira and give her a piece of her mind. But . . . she'd made a promise. Disappointment replaced her anger and welled thick in her throat. She'd have to let Kuvira go.

"Come on, Lefty," she said reluctantly. She pulled herself back onto the bison. As much as she wanted to pursue Kuvira, she'd told everyone that she'd go to the Northern Air Temple. There probably wasn't a lot she could've achieved by confronting Kuvira anyway. She looked at the train and kicked her heels. Lefty didn't move. Confused, she got off the bison and walked over to his head.

"Come on Lefty," she insisted. He could sense that she didn't want to leave, but he needed to go back to Kai. "Lefty," she said. "Let's go." The bison snorted derisively. He was every bit as stubborn and insightful as his owner. The bison took to the air, hovering above the ground. They both knew he could fly back to Kai with his eyes closed. He'd wanted to go with Opal, just as she'd wanted to go with him, but she needed to confront Kuvira and he could tell.

"Thank you," she said. Sometimes she felt silly, talking to animals, but other times she knew it was perfectly justified. Kuvira was down there somewhere and Opal couldn't just let her slip through her fingers. Not again. She watched Lefty fly off past the trees in the same direction they'd been heading before she turned and started running.

She wasn't thinking about what she was going to do, she just knew that she had to do something. She hunted through the trees, taking care that no one would notice her. It seemed like there was a town past the forest that Kuvira's army was either loading supplies from or unloading them to. It didn't matter.

This was a pointless risk and Opal wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for. Kuvira, Bolin, or her brother; she had something to say to each of them, but in all honesty she wanted to see Kuvira the most. Bolin had been kept in the dark, and Baatar had been manipulated, but Kuvira was the one who had started it all. When she spotted Kuvira she stopped in her tracks.

Kuvira was by herself, each hand clasping the opposite elbow, thinking to herself. Opal looked around. They stood at a pretty far distance from the train, and Kuvira's people were busy doing whatever she'd told them to do and Opal hadn't noticed them nearby. She stepped out into the clearing. Kuvira looked surprised when she saw Opal.

"Opal," Kuvira began to speak but Opal opened her palms towards Kuvira and blasted her with all the force she could muster. Kuvira dodged the wind easily and immediately became all business. Bands of metal snapped off of Kuvira's arms and she sent them flying at Opal, trying to catch her arms or legs. Opal missed them in the way she'd learned to at the Northern Air Temple. She kept her feet light and kicked up a gust of air, sending it to whip at Kuvira.

Kuvira leapt out of the way of another flare of wind and hid herself behind a tree. "I don't want to fight you, Opal," she warned in a low voice. Kuvira was one of the greatest benders Opal had ever seen but Opal wasn't so bad herself and she had a greater incentive to win.

"It's too late for that," Opal called back. Gathering air into a giant ball in her hands, she sent it rolling towards Kuvira. Kuvira moved out from behind the tree, which took the blunt of the blast. Kuvira sent more metal sailing in Opal's direction but the airbender's attack had made her stumble and the bands clattered off course.

"Not bad," Kuvira said patronizingly, her hair hanging in her face, dishevelled. When Korra had started airbending she'd knocked Kuvira clear across the field. Opal wasn't at Korra's level, even out of the Avatar state, but she could hold her own. Kuvira's condescension only served to get her more riled up.

Kuvira had her entire family, the people Opal cared about the most. And now she dared to fight Opal as though Opal had struck the first blow. The Air Nomads were a peaceful people, and Opal could swear as many oaths as she wanted, but Jinora would never be able to understand this situation. This was personal.

Opal knew Kuvira wasn't fighting Opal with her full ability and that just made her more furious. She was holding back, as if she gave a damn about hurting Opal. Opal's hands moved rapidly, collecting air into a small tornado around her. She sent the storm crashing into Kuvira, throwing the woman's body against the trees. Opal didn't care if she got caught anymore. She wanted Kuvira to feel the pain she felt.

Kuvira got up, blowing her hair out of her face. Her eyes were angry and she quickly sent a metal band to catch Opal's foot and pull her up into the air. Opal panicked but kept collecting air and sent a blast through the trees, breaking Kuvira's concentration long enough for Opal to fall out of her grip. They both rested on the ground for a moment, aching and covered in dust.

"I'm sorry I took your family Opal," Kuvira said. "But your mother tried to kill me."

"Because you tried to take our city!" Opal yelled, getting to her feet.

"If you'd just surrendered in the first place none of this would have happened," Kuvira replied, shaking her hair clean of dirt. Is that really how Kuvira saw it? If they all just rolled over and accepted Kuvira she wouldn't have taken the Beifongs prisoner, wouldn't have tried to kill the Avatar; she would have happily claimed her empire unimpeded. She really thought that if they stopped resisting she'd have their consent. Opal's hands moved on their own.

Opal gripped the air in Kuvira's lungs and tugged, lightly at first, then all at once. Kuvira gasped on nothing, eyes wild with panic, and Opal clutched tighter on her breath. Kuvira got to her feet, advancing towards Opal but Opal ran, expanding the vacuum around Kuvira's head. By the time Kuvira caught up to Opal, she was stumbling slightly. She tried summoning a sheet of metal to her hand and it rose in the air before clattering to the ground.

Opal kept on pulling on Kuvira's breath like it was a stray thread from an otherwise tightly woven piece of clothing. She pulled until she felt like she could hear the last few breaths left in Kuvira's lungs abandon her to join the whirlwind that was collecting in Opal's hands. Opal's palms were wet and warm. It felt like blood.

Kuvira fell to her knees, hands grasping at Opal's clothes, lips turning blue. The woman's eyes were fluttering as she reached for Opal's hands, too weak to pull them apart. Kuvira gave up on fighting and just pulled on Opal's clothes, gasping a deep, hollow sound. She blurred in Opal's vision, and Opal realized dimly that she was crying. Tears were hot on her cheeks as she watched Kuvira desperately fighting for air. Opal's hands trembled and she let go. Kuvira sagged against her, gasping.

Tears were falling freely now and Opal desperately wiped her cheeks. Kuvira's head rested on her stomach and she could feel the woman panting against her as she cried. She'd almost become a murderer. Opal wrapped her arms around Kuvira's head, trying to hold back her sobs. "I'm sorry," she choked out. Kuvira's arms circled Opal's waist as she continued to chase her breath. "I didn't know I could do that," Opal whimpered, holding onto Kuvira like she was trying to tie her to the world.

"You're a powerful bender," Kuvira spoke up, voice hoarse and eyes still fluttering. On shaking legs Kuvira got to her feet, still holding onto Opal for support. In that moment Opal hadn't been thinking, had been drunk on power, had almost been delighted to see Kuvira on her knees. Opal was horrified. Kuvira stroked her back soothingly as she swayed. "Maybe, if you had been a metalbender, you'd have been able to beat me."

"What?" Opal asked, looking up at the taller woman. Within seconds, a sheet of Kuvira's metal had snapped onto Opal's wrists and Kuvira had ducked an arm around Opal's leg, hoisting her into the air.

"Kuvira!" Opal yelled, panicking. Kuvira said nothing; she simply hefted Opal into a more comfortable position closer to her chest. "Let me go!" Again, Kuvira didn't respond. Opal's hands were bound together, and while Opal was busy assessing her situation Kuvira bended another metal band to connect her feet.

Opal couldn't fight, couldn't bend, and Kuvira who'd nearly died not a minute ago was carrying her like she weighed nothing. The fear was real, but Opal found it turning into anger and desperation. "You have work camps," Opal hissed. "You tried to kill Korra. You have my mother and the rest of my family at your mercy; you corrupted my brother and my boyfriend. I don't regret hurting you!" Kuvira didn't look like she'd noticed. Opal felt helplessness take over her, making her feel far weaker than being physically restrained did.

She struggled to keep the tears in her eyes, furiously glaring three inches to the side of Kuvira's face. "Let me go," she added, brokenly. Kuvira looked down at Opal with something like grim regret as she carried her.

"I'm sorry," Kuvira said at last, her voice still hoarse.

"Your feelings," Opal said, getting angry again, voice shaking with rage. "If they're even real, are not worth anything!" If Kuvira was sorry she'd let Opal go, she'd let everyone go, but she didn't. Opal wriggled in Kuvira's grasp and Kuvira sighed, annoyed. Opal had to keep angry, or she was going to fall apart with fear.

Binding her with metal, Kuvira had found a way to stop Opal from airbending as well as fighting physically. Opal doubted it would be a fair fight either way but Kuvira had taken away that option. Kuvira was good at taking away options until there was no other choice but to obey. Opal was not going to make it pleasant for her.

Continuing to wriggle and fight pissed Kuvira off, but the older woman was about as strong as the Avatar herself so she kept a pretty good grasp on Opal. "I hate you," Opal said as a last resort. "I know," Kuvira said, hefting Opal's weight in her arms. Her tone seemed blameless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: blood mention, violence, asphyxiation/strangulation


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**174 AG**

Kuvira put Opal into an empty train compartment, setting her on the bed unceremoniously. The bands cuffing Opal unwrapped and rejoined the armour on Kuvira's shoulders. With her hands free, the first thing Opal did was massage her wrists. Kuvira's gaze followed the movement and Opal watched her silently in return.

Kuvira hadn't made the constraints unreasonably tight but Opal's struggling had caused them to dig into her arms, leaving little red dents. Kuvira's eyes looked at the marks with apathy before turning and leaving without a word. Opal stood up just as Kuvira shut the door. Opal hit the door with the palm of her hand in frustration.

She looked around the compartment. At first glance there was nothing Opal could do to break out either by her bending or by her wits, so she really had no choice but to wait. Kuvira had sealed the doors and windows shut. It seemed like there was a door to another room, perhaps a bathroom, but Kuvira had sealed it away as well. She was a prisoner.

In the centre of the room was a moderately-sized bed, but other than that the room lacked for comforts. Since Kuvira had bended the blinds closed, and impenetrable, the place was dim. The only light came from the window on the door Kuvira had left through, a sliver of daylight that lit up the dark green tapestries adorning the room. Opal wandered over to the bed and fell down on it, no doubt getting the white sheets dirty with mud and dust. Opal looked up at the metal ceiling and massaged her bruising wrists.

She was surprisingly calm now. Things had been completely out of control but this time away from Kuvira gave Opal a chance to breathe. She'd had a hard journey and so much had happened in such a short space of time. Her entire body ached; her lungs were raw from yelling. The bed smelled like Kuvira. Opal rested her eyes.

She was so tired. She'd fought and kicked and screamed at Kuvira up until the woman had carried her to a distance close enough to the train to be heard. Kuvira had then dropped Opal and told her to shut up or suffer consequences for not doing so. The look in Kuvira's eye told Opal that she didn't want to find out what those consequences were so Opal decided to play it safe.

In retrospect, Kuvira was probably bluffing. What could she do that she hadn't done already? Despite the abhorrent treatment of prisoners they weren't killing anybody yet, to Opal's knowledge, and Opal knew Kuvira would use her for bargaining before anything else. All the same, it was best to let Kuvira think that she had Opal under control. Opal had exhausted herself as well; coming at Kuvira at full throttle when Kuvira had all the power wasn't a sound strategy. But then, what _was_ her strategy here?

She'd come after Kuvira with rage burning to keep herself from feeling helpless, and Kuvira had held Opal and let her rage on, allowing her to distract herself from how she'd almost become a killer. It had been . . . so easy. A chill ran down Opal's body. She looked up at her hands, smudged with dirt. Why was it so easy to take someone's air away from them? If she hadn't realized the consequences of what she was doing she - would've killed Kuvira.

Was it something all airbenders could do or was it like bloodbending, some rare curse. Was bloodbending even something difficult to do or was it just that most people knew better than to try? She'd been goading Korra to kill Kuvira, had supported her mother's assassination attempt, and had nearly killed Kuvira herself. But with the metalbender's life literally in her hands Opal had stopped. She didn't know if she should be thankful for that or not.

How could she go through with it anyway when both her mother and the Avatar had failed? Deep down, Opal knew, none of them wanted to succeed anyway. Her mother was angry, but she'd never want to kill Kuvira. Her mother had killed before, and something small but vital had changed in Suyin when she killed P'Li. She hadn't wanted to but she'd had to for her family.

Kuvira was a different case, however, for both of them. Maybe even for Korra . . . Kuvira had saved her father's life once. Suyin had wanted Kuvira to succeed her in Zaofu and Kuvira, apparently unsatisfied with waiting, had stolen the city from her. Suyin had never taken betrayal well; she considered, had considered, everyone in Zaofu as family and that family had betrayed her time and time again.

One thing was certain - Suyin still cared for Kuvira. As fiercely as she fought against her, as lethal as their fights got, Suyin would never kill her. Opal feared it was the same for her. Were they both so stuck on who Kuvira used to be that they couldn't give up hope for her? Opal thought she'd given up hope that Kuvira would ever change so was it just her being too weak to take her life? Was it a weakness?

Kuvira bended the door open and Opal sat up. The blood rushed in her head, and the darkness ate away until she saw Kuvira, standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the light until she bent it shut behind her. She turned around and Opal folded her arms. Kuvira watched Opal with dark eyes. "Are you hungry?" she asked after a moment.

Opal had energy enough to keep her fighting. "Where's my brother?" she barked.

Kuvira looked both disappointed and irritated. "Baatar has more important things to worry about than you," she said. "He's on the far side of the train."

"So he doesn't know I'm here?" Opal asked. She realized that that was probably why Kuvira had snuck her onto the train. She was hiding Opal from her brother.

"No," Kuvira said, simply, her hands going behind her back to clasp the elbow of the opposite arm. Opal looked at her intensely, willing some more information out of her. Kuvira frowned. "I'm not keeping you from him because he would let you go, or because you could possibly change his mind." He'd taken Zaofu and done spirits knew what with their family, Opal knew she couldn't change his mind. She hoped that she could if she tried but she doubted it was possible anymore.

"He would be distracted by your presence until we got you to a camp," Kuvira concluded. Baatar was working on something then. He'd gone from being an engineer for Zaofu to being an engineer for Kuvira's army, and Kuvira was hiding Opal for the good of the Empire. Opal looked at Kuvira as if to say that she wasn't buying it; Kuvira's expression told Opal that she didn't care either way.

"Are you hungry?" she asked again.

"You're sending me to a camp?" Opal questioned.

Kuvira looked at her with such condescension Opal felt like she should've kept her mouth shut even while she needed to know the answer. "No, I thought I'd keep you here until I've united the entire Earth Empire," Kuvira answered with gritted teeth. Opal glared right back.

"The camp," she suddenly realized. "Would I join my family?"

"No," Kuvira said. "You're an airbender. We'll have accommodations made for you." The words sounded unbearably detached.

"So, for now, my accommodations are your bed?" Opal hissed. She saw in her eyes that Kuvira was disgusted by what she'd implied. Good. And she'd been right, this was Kuvira's bed. She really didn't want anyone to know she had Opal. There was another reason Kuvira was keeping her around. This was interesting.

Kuvira turned away from her, lighting the only lamp in the room for Opal's benefit. "You know, I think I'll tell Baatar after all," she said. "I should have more faith in him to not let this be personal."

"Baatar would not just, be _okay_ with this," Opal hissed, voice getting embarrassingly shrill with panic. He was still her brother, and he was still a Beifong. Kuvira was keeping Opal hidden because she didn't want Baatar to have second thoughts. Kuvira just quirked an eyebrow and smirked.

"I was considering having a guard bring you your meal, but on second thought I think Baatar would serve quite happily," Kuvira said. She had noticed Opal trying to get an upper-hand and was determined to quash any hope Opal had of winning the game she was playing with her. "Do you have any preferences? Oh, that's right, you're a vegetarian." Kuvira turned to leave.

"Where's Bolin?" Opal yelled, getting to her feet. Kuvira turned around and smiled easily.

"You can ask Baatar," she said, keeping her voice light. She stepped through the door before bending it shut behind her. Opal's fists were getting used to striking metal.

Baatar came by later that day. He brought her some soup and bread for dinner. He didn't gloat as much as Opal thought he would. His problem had never been her. They'd never been particularly close but she'd never done anything to make him feel slighted. He boasted a little about how much he and Kuvira had accomplished but quickly got tired of it.

When he was preparing to go he told her she'd be safe in the camp they'd build for her. Whether it was actually true or not, he believed it. She asked him if the rest of their family was safe. His face soured. He told her they were but he wouldn't tell her how and he wouldn't tell her where. She asked him to tell her where Bolin was. For the first time since she'd seen him again he looked regretful.

When Kuvira came back later that day she unlocked the room she'd sealed away from Opal, revealing a bathroom. She kept the shades covering the windows bent completely shut, sealing off the window so Opal couldn't escape through the glass. Opal sat on the bed and watched her. Kuvira noticed her staring and paused, turning to look at Opal as well.

"Baatar told me Bolin's dead," Opal said carefully. Kuvira nodded slowly. Her eyes narrowed shrewdly.

"You don't believe him," she said.

"I know Bolin," Opal replied. She frowned. "But did you know? That Baatar thought he was dead when I asked you where he was?" She meant the first time, all the way back in Zaofu. Kuvira shook her head.

"The explosion happened after we left Zaofu," she said. "So I didn't know. But . . . I did lie to you back then." Opal looked at her with wide eyes and Kuvira went on. "Bolin turned on me after you brought up the re-education centres," she explained. She picked up Opal's dishes and went to leave with them in hand. "We were sending him to one when your brother assigned him to work with Varrick on a project. Varrick created a bomb and hijacked the train, forcing us to disconnect his car."

Opal nodded. "Varrick and his work, as well as Bolin, perished in the explosion, or so we had thought," Kuvira continued. "They were recently spotted at the border. At any rate I promise that I didn't know that Bolin had died at the time I told you he was on our side, but I lied about that. It was spiteful of me," she added. "There was no reason for me to do that, and I apologize."

"I didn't believe you anyway," Opal said, almost as though she was consoling Kuvira. It was surreal and they both seemed to pick up on it. Opal didn't know why Kuvira had told her all this, but all the same she still shut the door on Opal in her makeshift prison, leaving her alone. The airbender sighed. She'd already started prying apart the metal underneath the tapestry with a part of the bed frame she'd disconnected. It still felt insulting that Kuvira would keep her like this.

Opal lay back on the bed, feeling like she'd been thrown around the room. She hadn't known about the explosion but at least Bolin was alive somewhere, Kuvira wouldn't lie about something like that. But why . . . why had Kuvira lied about Bolin supporting her? Was that just to get back at Opal for hitting her? For kissing her?

They still hadn't talked about the kiss yet. Opal, impulsively, touched her lips as though to stop the words from accidentally being realized. Opal wondered if Kuvira was refraining from bringing it up on her behalf; Opal certainly didn't want to talk about it. It had been the biggest mistake Opal had ever made in her life, most likely. Her current situation might just beat that record if she wasn't careful.

Opal had avoided thinking about it. She was finding that she was rather adept at not thinking about things that would hurt her. After she'd kissed Kuvira back in Zaofu she'd gone seamlessly, gratefully, from a near panic attack to calling for Kuvira's death. It was much easier to hate Kuvira then to think about the possibility that she might still care about her, so Opal chose the path of avoidance.

It rarely went over well. In all honesty it was repression, and Opal knew rationally and from observation that repression was only a dam, and that dams gave up over time with worse consequences. It felt better to lie to herself, to hate Kuvira, to dance around the kiss and all the feelings that she'd had since she was a child, but she knew that she had to hold herself to a higher standard than that. She had to be honest.

She clutched her arms around herself. If she'd known that Bolin was going to betray Kuvira she didn't know if she'd still have kissed her. She hoped she wouldn't have. The knowledge that she was letting Kuvira capture her for a reason crept around in the back of her mind. There were so many questions Opal didn't want to know the answer to. She knew she'd have to face them eventually.

She glanced at a rich, dark green tapestry, inscribed with words echoing Kuvira's ideology of unity, protection, strength. Behind the drapery was Opal's escape. Regardless of Baatar's faith in Kuvira's operation, there was always an unquenchable survivor in a nonbender. No one wanted to talk about it, but nonbenders lived lives that were at the whim of benders, especially outside Zaofu. Opal had no doubt that every room in this train was somehow penetrable for those who knew how to look.

Since Opal had found her escape she told herself that she was waiting for the right moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: food


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**174 AG**

Opal had grown antsy and irritated. At this point she could pry the hole behind the tapestry open with her bare hands to get out. Her constant fiddling with it, opening it and resealing it, had left the metal pliable. The unpleasantness of jumping out of the train once she escaped and her need to know what Kuvira wanted with her were the only things keeping Opal from leaving.

Kuvira hadn't visited in a few days. Neither had Baatar. Guards came and went and Opal wondered if anyone back home noticed she was gone. It was unlikely and she was grateful for that; she didn't want to worry them. Aside of that, Opal felt anxious and bored. Something had to change, something had to happen, or Opal would get nothing out of the time she was wasting by staying.

When a guard came by with breakfast Opal asked her if she could speak to Kuvira. The thing was, most of the people working for Kuvira weren't actually bad. They either didn't know what she was doing or she'd justified her actions to them in some way. There were innumerable ways Kuvira could rationalize Opal's capture to her soldiers, but she also commanded a loyalty that could just as easily ensure that they did not need a reason. The woman Opal had asked looked regretful, conflicted, but she nodded. Opal found it in herself to thank her.

The train had stopped the other day for awhile in the middle of night, but Opal didn't hear any doors open. She'd pressed her face to the cracks in the metal blinds and stared out into the darkness. Soon the train started moving again. It was strange. Everything about the past few days had been strange. She'd expected to see Baatar more often. She hadn't anticipated him passing on every meal for her but when he'd seen her, as arrogant as he had been, he'd looked rueful.

Then again, his regret was most likely his failure to get Opal to join Kuvira's army. Opal swallowed down her bitterness. Her brother was as lost to his cause as his fiancée. But, what surprised Opal the most was Kuvira's absence. The woman loved to feel in control so what was keeping her from dropping by and gloating? This fact, of all things, was perhaps the strangest.

Suddenly, the door was bent open, a clear gust of air falling into the room as Kuvira stepped inside impatiently. Opal sat up and stared at her. Kuvira looked down at her coldly. "I was in a meeting," she said. "What do you want?" Opal's irritation sparked.

"I've been thinking," she began. "I haven't seen my brother in a few days."

"He's busy," Kuvira interrupted her dismissively. "And you're not going anywhere. He doesn't need to check up on you."

"You told him that I'd been transferred to a camp already, didn't you," Opal accused. Kuvira looked a little surprised and didn't deny it. Opal laughed a little. This was unbelievable. "You ask everyone to pledge their loyalty to you, but you don't trust any of them," she muttered. So this was why Kuvira had been avoiding her.

"I don't want you to waste your hopes on Baatar, or any hopes on me for that matter," Kuvira said. "We will fulfill our goals, Opal, and you're just getting in the way of that. He wanted to design you a prison." Opal felt a little ill. Had he designed their family's prison as well? "I told him we already had one made. Thinking you're out of the picture allows him to focus on things that actually matter."

Opal frowned. Kuvira's gaze lowered. "If that's all," she said, beginning to back away.

"I had a crush on you, you know," Opal spoke up viciously, if only to keep Kuvira from leaving. It worked, Kuvira froze in her peripheral vision. Opal twisted her fingers together and added grimly, "It was pathetic."

"Opal," Kuvira murmured from the doorway.

"I thought you were the most beautiful person I'd ever seen," Opal went on. She couldn't help but sound miserable. "Of course, I didn't realize I felt like that at the time. It wasn't a big deal, I just really admired you. I had dreams about you, harmless stuff. I accidentally walked in on you and one of the dancers having sex once."

"I know," Kuvira spoke up, and of course she did. Opal's cheeks burned but she didn't care.

"Thanks for not saying anything," she said weakly. Kuvira had always seemed to avoid making Opal feel embarrassed. Opal took a breath and went on. "Really, I just wanted to be your friend. I guess that's why it took me so long to figure out that I liked you. I wanted you to be my friend, you couldn't even do that, but I wanted it."

"When I heard the rumours, about what you were doing, about the lengths you would go to get people to join your crusade, I want you to know that I fought for you. At first." Kuvira was silent. "For two years I was nothing but loyal to you," Opal hissed before her voice squeezed off. She couldn't talk any more or she'd start crying. "That got me really far," she muttered after a pause, folding her arms.

"Are you hoping that I'm going to spill some secrets as well?" Kuvira asked, trying to sound uninterested. "Is that why you're going on like this?"

"I'd appreciate some honesty," Opal replied. "For once." She looked up at Kuvira. Kuvira shut her mouth and said nothing. Opal looked at Kuvira, really looked at her, for the first time in a long time. Her face had changed a lot in the past three years. Her body was as strong as it had been when she was a guard, perhaps stronger, but her face had become angular where it used to be smooth and round.

The mole beneath her eye had always been Kuvira's most discerning feature and it was perhaps the only recognizable thing about her now. Opal had never seen Kuvira look so cold back in Zaofu. But the harsh expression became muted at Kuvira's mouth, the thin line of her frown was gentle, considering. Kuvira's dark eyes were clear; brow tight with bewilderment. She dropped the glare.

"Why did you kiss me, back in Zaofu?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Because I felt like it," Opal replied. She was bluffing; she didn't fully understand why she'd kissed Kuvira and she'd been desperately avoiding thinking about the kiss, much less investigating why it had happened at all. But, Opal was angry. Kuvira hadn't shared anything herself and still demanded information from Opal.

"But why," Kuvira pressed on. She was confused and seemed troubled.

Opal shrugged. The words tripped of her tongue, words she'd stuffed so deep in her throat that they'd never crossed her mind. "Why did you kiss me back?" she responded. Kuvira said nothing.

"Were you in love with me?" she asked Opal, one eyebrow raised, as though she hadn't heard her.

The airbender thought about it, anger faltering. "No," she said. It really had just been a crush. What she felt for Kuvira was something different now, something she'd never felt before and something she'd never read about, something painful, angry, unnameable.

Kuvira looked at Opal, her eyes unreadable."Are you in love with me?" she asked her.

Opal glared at the metalbender, throat suddenly tight with anger. "I hope not," she said. Kuvira looked at her quietly for a moment then finally turned around, leaving Opal alone with her thoughts.

Opal held her hands for awhile. If Opal had come here for answers she now knew that she wouldn't get any, or at least not any that she would like. She eyed the tapestry. Kuvira had known that Opal had seen her that one night back in Zaofu. The airbender frowned to herself. She made plans to leave later that night.

 


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**171 AG**

So much had happened in the weeks since she'd found out she was an airbender. She'd met the Avatar, gotten her first boyfriend, and had stood up to her mother for the first time. Now, she was leaving Zaofu. Everything was happening so fast Opal barely had any time to breathe but she was excited.

Her mother had honoured Opal's test and had held a small celebration to see her off. It was ideal for Opal, it had everyone Opal cared to know in the room with a few strategic additions her mother had invited. Opal liked Zhu Li a lot, for the little that the mousy woman spoke, but to be honest she wasn't totally in love with Varrick. His personality was forceful and abrasive and she didn't like the way he treated Zhu Li, but that was another matter.

There were a few people missing as well. Opal's friends from around the city hadn't been invited but she'd talked to them earlier so she didn't mind. Kuvira was absent as well. It turned out that since she was guard captain she would be overseeing Opal's departure as well as securing the domes. Opal would've felt awkward inviting her as well, Kuvira traversed in vastly different, more mature, circles than Opal and as the matriarch's daughter she hadn't wanted to impose.

Bolin and Opal had gone for a walk in the gardens after supper and they'd kissed. He'd tasted like kale which had made her laugh. She felt a little bad that they'd have to part after being together for such a short time but she knew she'd see him again soon enough. She was eager to start her new life at the Northern Air Temple.

Opal had gone back to her room and picked out a clean outfit to wear. Walking down to the dome where the airship would be landing, Opal spotted Kuvira and picked up speed so she could fall in step with her. "Hi," she greeted, breathless. Kuvira was wearing her guard uniform but Opal had recognized her gait.

"Opal," Kuvira replied, a smile in her voice. "Are you going down to the docking bay?" Opal nodded. "I'm heading there now as well. I'll be closing the domes as soon as you leave." In the time between Opal avoiding Kuvira for embarrassing reasons and then practicing to become a better bender Kuvira had become guard captain. It had been in the papers, and she'd spoken to Kuvira since then, but Opal never really had congratulated her on that. Before Opal could comment on that Kuvira offered up a new topic.

"So, how is the Avatar like?" the metalbender asked conversationally. "I saw her training you a few nights ago. She seems like a good teacher."

"Korra is _so_ nice," Opal grinned, glancing up at Kuvira. She was still pinching herself about being on a first-name basis with the Avatar. "She's been so helpful and supportive. She's not what you'd picture the Avatar to be like; she's just a normal girl."

Kuvira nodded. "That's good." She added, slowly, deliberately, "I've wondered about the kind of person she is ever since I found out she helped the Earth Queen take money from her people. Bandits," she amended. "Perhaps it was thievery but the Queen lives in opulence and there was no attempt to deal with the criminals at all. Not to reintegrate them or arrest them, just to take back the money. It was petty of her to enlist the Avatar to do her dirty work."

"Korra helped the Earth Queen?" Opal asked. Kuvira said nothing; she seemed to be reading Opal's reaction. Opal turned away quietly, trying to fit the image of Korra she had with the image of the Avatar. Korra didn't seem to like the Queen at all; Opal would have to ask her more about it.

"I suppose she had her reasons," Kuvira remarked thoughtfully. "After all, she is supposed to bring balance." The metalbender didn't sound convinced.

"How did you find out about all this?" Opal asked. "My mom talked to Korra about the Queen at dinner but it never came up."

"It's my job to know the internal and external workings of Zaofu," Kuvira replied. "The Earth Kingdom is my business as well."

"Oh yeah," Opal yelped, glancing up at Kuvira. "I don't think I ever told you. Congratulations on becoming captain!" Kuvira smiled; she also was pleased, and no doubt proud of herself.

"Well, congratulations on getting a boyfriend," she replied, easily moving the conversation along. "I told you there were nice boys out there."

Opal nodded enthusiastically. Bolin _was_ nice. He was funny, and talented, and while he'd experienced horrible things he had become someone strong and sweet. He could act kind of awkward sometimes but he didn't react badly to being called out, and Opal knew that awkwardness would leave with time.

"Everything's really coming together," she said. It had all fallen into place: she'd gotten a boyfriend, a talent, and a purpose in life. She gotten all of those things eventually, but bending was a quick ticket to something grander out there. She didn't need it but she was grateful for it and beyond excited to have it.

"Here, feel." She held out her hand for Kuvira. Kuvira looked at her quizzically but went to put her hand in Opal's. She was stopped by a gust of air that kept her hand hovering above Opal's, not touching. Kuvira smiled.

"Impressive," she said appreciatively. Opal put her hand in her pocket and grinned.

It had been awhile since they'd spoken to each other like this. Ever since Opal had found out she could airbend she'd put a pressure on herself to improve. The Avatar had called her a natural. It was the first time Opal had ever been a natural at anything. Opal had never accomplished much, but at dinner her family had raised their glasses to her in a toast.

In Zaofu everyone had multiple talents. Not every talent was useful but Opal didn't even have a useless talent. Her hobby was reading, and people liked Opal because she was nice to them, but she'd always had a creeping sensation that she was a waste. She wasn't a good dancer and she could never design things like her father and brother could. The only selling point she'd ever had was that she was a good person.

She never brought it up much because she knew people would rush to assure her that it didn't matter, that she was still loved and valuable just for being herself. The sentiment was well intentioned but it couldn't erase what Opal actually felt so she kept her thoughts to herself. Opal still didn't have any real talents but now she could actually help people. She was just sixteen but she was ready.

"You finally get to go on your adventure," Kuvira spoke up gently. Opal grinned back at her. It was true, she finally had a reason to leave Zaofu and get to explore the world as well as her new ability.

"I still can't really believe this is happening," she confessed. Kuvira smiled at her kindly.

"It'll be fine," she said. "Make us proud." Opal couldn't help but stop and hug the taller woman, her metal neck-plate clanking against Kuvira's guard uniform. Opal bit her lip to stop from crying. She couldn't cry now and make her family worry about her. "Don't worry, Opal," Kuvira told her. "You're going to amaze everyone." Opal gulped, clinging to Kuvira's chest.

Suddenly she felt cold. The metal of Kuvira's uniform was hard and bracing, the sensation harsh enough to bring Opal back from her deliriousness. "What if I don't," she whispered.

"What, of course you will," Kuvira replied reassuringly.

"But what if I just," Opal said. "Don't." No one had ever expected anything from Opal her entire life. They were so happy and excited to her now, her mother had toasted her at dinner and Suyin had never been given a reason to do that before. Would they hate her, if she still remained as useless and talentless as she'd been before? Would they still accept her if she didn't have an excuse anymore?

Kuvira looked troubled. "You've been given power, Opal," she said. "It would be irresponsible not to use that power."

Opal stepped away from Kuvira. "I wasn't powerless before."

Kuvira seemed to choose her words carefully. "Then what's causing you to hesitate now?" she asked. Opal frowned. She wasn't happy with how Kuvira had sidestepped Opal's point but she didn't want her last moments with the metalbender to be an argument. She'd never argued with her before and it would be a poor time to start.

Opal held onto Kuvira one last time before letting go with a little smile. "I'll miss you," she said honestly. Kuvira looked at Opal with an odd expression. Neither of them had ever thought Opal would be the first one to leave Zaofu. They were at the docking bay now and the airship had landed. Opal grinned and walked away from Kuvira, headed to the ship and her future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: food


	21. Chapter Twenty

**174 AG**

Opal crept down the hallway as silently as she could. Everyone in the train was sleeping in their compartments, and there were not many people at the head of the train with Kuvira. All the same, Opal was nervous. One false move and she would be caught and she knew Kuvira wouldn't let her escape again.

Each door she passed had a thin pane of glass in it, unlike Kuvira's bedroom. It was true to her character, to feel entitled to controlling others but rejecting the equal opportunity for herself. Opal glanced through the windows as she passed them, keeping her footsteps light. No one was in any of the rooms that Opal came across but she still felt tense.

At the end of the hall there were three doors on either side of Opal. It didn't matter if she chose the door to her left or the one to her right, both opened up to the world speeding by outside the train. It was the door to the front of her that made Opal hesitate. Like the others, this door had a window and Opal could see inside easily.

Kuvira wasn't facing the door; she was hunched over a desk, writing something. It looked like it was her office, plans and maps covered the metal walls in an organized manner and Kuvira looked at home in the centre of it all, working quietly. No one had noticed Opal, not even Kuvira, or if she had she had decided to ignore her. Opal had been given every opportunity to leave. She pushed open the door and silently walked over to the metalbender.

She needed to talk to her, really talk to her. She needed to know where they stood with each other, why Kuvira had kissed her back, why Kuvira had kept her on the train instead of putting her in a prison. She needed to know why she'd kissed Kuvira, why she couldn't help but coming back to the woman. If she'd come this far, there was no point in turning back now.

When Opal was just a few steps away from reaching Kuvira, the woman's back straightened. She'd noticed Opal and she turned around to fix her with a cold look. "You're out," she said, voice hard, setting the tone. Opal was grateful; she couldn't bear any vulnerability from her. "I guess I'll need to take that in account for the camp we'll build for you."

"I didn't need my bending to escape," Opal said harshly.

"But you didn't escape," Kuvira pointed out, standing up and walking over to Opal. The airbender wasn't about to be intimidated.

"You said 'we'll build,'" she noted, stepping toe-to-toe with the other woman. "So you haven't built me a prison yet. Sounds like you still haven't even made the plans." Kuvira looked irritated.

"We have more things to worry about than you," she said, as though she was reminding the younger woman. "Why are you here, Opal?" she asked. "You could have left. Are you here to finish off what you started?"

"I'm not going to kill you," Opal said, trying not to feel hurt. She still could hardly believe that she'd possessed that power, and in all honesty she'd avoided thinking about it since that moment, much less considered trying it again. If she'd ever been worried about Kuvira not realizing that Opal had 'grown up', as Kuvira had put it when discussing Bolin, she didn't have to anymore. "I never wanted to."

"You got pretty close," Kuvira scoffed, but her tone had lost its bite. She looked at Opal with a glint in her eyes. "But I never thought that that's what you wanted. All that means is that there is another reason why you came to me." Her voice was thick with some dark insinuation.

Kuvira stepped closer, looking down on her. Opal raised chin to meet Kuvira's gaze. Kuvira wasn't particularly tall; Opal was short and Kuvira was intimidating. But not to Opal, not anymore. The airbender was getting out of here today, and they both felt it. "Do you know why I'm here?" Opal asked her.

Kuvira's smirk faltered. She didn't know why Opal had decided to enter the room instead of running as far away from it as was possible. There was no reason why she should know the answer, especially considering the fact that Opal couldn't resolve the question either. All the same, Kuvira couldn't bear to admit that she didn't know everything.

"There's a reason why you kept me here, too," Opal went on. "You knew I'd escape." Kuvira had known, Opal had no doubt about it. It was Kuvira's turn to look away. "You could've told Baatar the truth when you said you'd sent me to a camp, but you chose to keep me here instead."

Kuvira frowned, glancing back at the younger woman. "I still care about you, Opal," she said softly. "Even if you've situated yourself against me." Opal felt like that was true. Opal had ended up in a position where she was not as personal as Suyin's role in all this but not as impersonal as the rest of the family.

"And I care about you, too," Opal admitted. "You know that." Of course Kuvira knew that, it's what she'd been banking on when she was manipulating Opal. All the same, Opal knew that even if Kuvira was manipulating her now she wasn't lying about caring about the airbender. If she didn't care she wouldn't bother with any of this. It was a frightening, useless way to think about this situation, and Opal knew it didn't matter if Kuvira cared about her, she'd still hurt her. There was no comfort to be found in her words being true.

Opal glanced behind her at the door. It was closed, but not bended shut, Baatar used this room after all. Opal felt Kuvira's eyes on her and she turned her head to look up at the metalbender. Kuvira would let her leave but she didn't want her to. Or rather, Kuvira suspected that Opal wanted to stay.

"I want to leave," Opal said out loud. Kuvira's face fell a little.

"Then leave," she said after a moment. "I won't stop you." They both knew that, Kuvira just hated admitting it. This hurt more than Opal thought it would. She hated Kuvira, and that actually pained her. She didn't want to hate Kuvira just as much as she didn't want to care for her. Opal craved indifference but knew that it wasn't possible for either of them.

"Tell me where my family is," Opal said.

"I won't do that," Kuvira replied.

"Are they," Opal took a breath. "Have you hurt them?"

"Baatar resents your family, he doesn't hate them," Kuvira said, a little sadly and wearily. "I'll tell you that much, but since you're leaving I see no benefit to telling you more." Opal wasn't happy with that but from an impersonal perspective she could understand. It didn't mean that this situation was impersonal though.

Kuvira looked at Opal a little sadly for a moment, then ducked her head to press a quick, affectionate kiss on Opal's cheek. Opal stood still as Kuvira pulled away. Opal's mind raced. She couldn't tell if it was something respectful, familial, or mocking. She couldn't tell, and that had probably been Kuvira's intention, but it had been soft.

"You stayed for awhile," Kuvira murmured. "I guess neither of us got what we wanted from that." Her voice was weighted with disappointment. She had wanted something from Opal, that's why she'd kept her around. She hadn't revealed what it was, but it was likely Kuvira didn't know what it was either. All the same, after so much had happened between them, it didn't feel right for Kuvira to leave Opal with a sweet kiss.

Opal's hands trembled. She was surprised that Kuvira was trying to manipulate her into staying; even Kuvira should know that that wasn't an option anymore. Even if she wasn't trying to get her to stay, the way Kuvira acted felt wrong. Kuvira wasn't allowed to take Opal's family and then touch her gently. It wasn't what Opal wanted to remember her by, but Opal couldn't stand to hurt Kuvira anymore.

Everything about Kuvira caused Opal pain. Hating Kuvira, caring for her, hurting her or being kind to her, it all just reminded Opal about all the bad Kuvira had done and how she could never go back to who she was. Kuvira had been everything Opal would've wanted to be. Someone useful as well as talented; someone with a vision that they could enact. But that vision had become corrupted, Kuvira had become corrupted.

She didn't care about Opal. If she cared about her she would stop all the horrors she was committing. All the same Opal couldn't internalize that fact to the point where she could stop caring about Kuvira in return. It was so difficult for Opal to pit herself against someone she'd idolized. She didn't think Kuvira fully understood the depth Opal's feelings had extended to, but she certainly played on their past relationship to her advantage when she could.

Even if Kuvira wasn't using Opal's old crush against her, the fact that she was using the days back in Zaofu to conjure some sort of softness in Opal was something unforgivable. This wasn't something innocent. This was something brutal and manipulative and Opal was finding, frighteningly, that she could give as good as she got.

She leaned up, pressing her body against Kuvira. Kuvira's breath hitched, surprised. Opal moved her hands onto Kuvira's hips and got onto her toes, knees brushing against Kuvira's legs. Carefully she leaned up and pressed a kiss against the corner of Kuvira's mouth, softer and more poisonous than anything Kuvira had offered her so far. Kuvira looked at Opal with dark eyes. Opal could swear she felt her heart beating from where their chests touched.

She leaned up again and moved her lips to Kuvira's jaw, kissing her again. Opal had thought she didn't want this anymore. Even that kiss back in Zaofu had been one of anger and fear, not of desire. Something was biting deep in Opal's gut now, something sad and horrifying. She was enjoying this far more than she should.

This wasn't the Kuvira she'd known, Opal didn't know how she could get such pleasure from kissing her. Perhaps it was the way Kuvira's breath stammered; frightening a dictator with a simple touch. At least they both were scared. Opal kissed Kuvira's neck one last time and let herself slowly recline until the balls of her feet touched the floor. "Opal," Kuvira said in a low, breathless voice.

"What?" Opal asked.

"Stop," Kuvira said. Her shoulders were stiff, her jaw was clenched. Opal stepped away from Kuvira but moved to sit on her desk. It was kind of ridiculous. She'd never really wanted to kiss Kuvira when she was younger; her desire to keep the woman's friendship was stronger than anything else. After everything that had happened Kuvira still expected that there was something left in Opal that she could call on in her favour.

Opal had come here because she'd wanted to know why Kuvira was doing such terrible things even though she claimed good intentions. It seemed like Kuvira had a justification at every turn, and while her righteousness was strong her actions were horrifying. There were people who still loved her, people in the big cities disconnected from the camps in the countryside, but Opal knew the tides would be changing after the invasion of Zaofu.

When she went to sit on the desk Opal nearly sat on Kuvira's documents but with some uncontrollable courtesy she moved them aside, and turned back to Kuvira. Kuvira's face was flushed. She hadn't expected any of this and it pissed her off and confused her. Opal looked back at Kuvira with as blank of an expression as she could muster.

Suddenly the metalbender stepped forward and knocked the papers off the desk, forcing Opal to her feet. "Get out of here," she snarled, leaning over Opal. "Do you think I'm just empty words? You tried to kill me and then broke out of your cell and came into my office. You said you wanted to go, so leave now, or I'll do what I should've done the moment you tried to kill me."

Opal couldn't help but laugh, anger coming back full force. She shoved Kuvira's arm off of her, turning around and gripping the metalbender's jacket. "I can't believe you," she hissed. "You just threatened to kill me, and you still think you're on the right side?"

"I didn't threaten to kill you," Kuvira snarled, offended, pushing Opal down onto the desk. "I'm threatening you with what I should've done as soon as I'd captured you. Put you in a real prison." Opal felt panic flutter in her throat, Kuvira's fingers hurt. Kuvira wasn't very tall but she was much stronger than Opal and was towering over her menacingly.

"You promised you'd let me go, so let me go!" Opal shouted. Even though Kuvira had yelled at Opal to go, her hands were on a vice grip on Opal's wrists, pinning her to the desk. Kuvira licked her lips, grip going slack.

"I don't want to," she said, voice cracking. She looked like she'd been caught off guard with her own words. Opal looked at the metalbender and something broke. Opal got to her feet and kissed Kuvira. Kuvira didn't respond to the kiss for a second then, like lightning promising thunder, her hands twitched at her side before grabbing Opal's hips, kissing her back.

Opal's fingers were trembling but managed to get Kuvira's belt undone and shoved her pants down to her knees. Kuvira pushed Opal down on the desk and nearly tore Opal's suit trying to get it off her. Cold air hit her skin, reviving some awareness, temporarily. Then Kuvira started kissing her neck as she ripped off her gloves and then Opal started working desperately on freeing her arms from her uniform.

Kuvira's left hand grabbed Opal's bunched up suit and slid it down Opal's legs, her free hand landing on Opal's inner thigh. Opal gasped out loud and Kuvira leaned in closer to slide her hand onto Opal's groin. Opal turned her head away from Kuvira but gripped handfuls of the metalbender's dark hair that was coming undone.

Kuvira teasingly ran her finger around Opal's clit, slow and softly, then harsh and insistent. Opal hadn't had time to do anything like this for months now and she wasn't ready for it. Kuvira moved one finger into Opal and then, seeing that she could, quickly slipped in another. Opal was embarrassed by how easy it was, how transparent she was being, but those thoughts were swiftly cut off by Kuvira starting to move inside of her.

Opal had never approached those thoughts, not seriously. The kiss, those multiple kisses, and now this too. Maybe, maybe she could finally get some closure about her feelings for Kuvira; get the woman out of her system. But she knew, as Kuvira began sliding her fingers in and out of Opal, that this probably wasn't the best way to accomplish that. Opal took off her undershirt and tried not to act too weak.

Kuvira tugged Opal closer to her, sending dull shocks scattering inside Opal's core. Her fingers were gentle enough to keep Opal desperate for more and harsh enough to keep Opal from losing it altogether. Again and again she pulled at Opal, applying pressure and taking away. Opal moaned loudly. She tried quieting her voice in case someone was coming, but it wasn't very successful.

"How does it feel?" Kuvira asked. Opal whimpered again. It felt too good but if Kuvira was gloating she didn't want to give her ammunition. Opal tried opening her eyes, not realizing she'd shut them. She found Kuvira's face and she seemed earnest. Opal propped herself up with shaky arms and pressed a deep kiss against Kuvira's lips, hoping to answer the question.

She collapsed back on the desk, breathing hard, feeling dizzy. Kuvira picked up her ministrations and hovered over Opal, one hand playing with Opal's hair. Opal turned her head to press her cheek into Kuvira's palm, and Kuvira's hand gripped Opal's breast, gently massaging it. Opal felt unliveable. She couldn't tell if she wanted Kuvira to slow down or hurry up.

Kuvira started moving her palm to rub against Opal's clit and Opal's hands clutched the metalbender's hair. Opal was losing her ability to concentrate and Kuvira let up slightly, giving Opal time to adjust to her touches. Opal wrapped her arms around Kuvira's back, holding her hands together. Then Kuvira stirred, breaking the moment. Opal rested her hands on Kuvira's hips and watched the metalbender's movements.

Kuvira trapped one of Opal's legs between her own. Opal gasped out loud when she felt Kuvira press herself down on Opal's thigh. She was wet. Opal was sure Kuvira had only done this to test Opal's reaction, and by the way her fingers moved Opal could tell Kuvira was pleased. She began to move in time with her fingers, idly brushing her clit against Opal with each thrust.

Opal moaned as Kuvira's hand moved from her hair to trace her breast. "Did you think about this?" Kuvira asked, riding Opal's thigh and palming her breast.

Opal couldn't see Kuvira's face, her hair had fallen from her bun and pooled around her shoulders to hide her expression. Her voice sounded vulnerable, packed with empty machismo. Opal reached her hands up and pushed Kuvira's thick hair behind her ears, brushing Kuvira's cheeks with the pad of her thumbs. Kuvira looked away but kept her pace steady.

Of course Opal had thought of this. Idly. Guiltily. Back in Zaofu and since Zaofu. She'd thought of Kuvira's hands inside her, on her body. The illusion was never quite enough; Kuvira's hands were larger than hers, sturdier and more talented. But Opal didn't feel like this was the moment. Even though it was the question Kuvira had asked Opal knew it wasn't the answer Kuvira was looking for.

"Not like this," she admitted. It was mostly the truth either way. She'd thought it'd be gentler, more romantic. Maybe it would've been. Opal couldn't lie and say that her thighs weren't burning right now, that her lungs weren't aching from the desperate breaths she was taking, because even after all the times she'd touched herself and let others touch her, she'd never felt like this. But, this wasn't the Kuvira she'd dreamt about. The metalbender nodded grimly, as if she understood that. She leaned over Opal and took Opal's breast into her mouth.

Heat flooded across Opal's face and chest. Wherever Kuvira touched Opal burned. Opal always hated how easily she blushed, she hated the way it made her skin feel and how easily it showed how she felt, especially now. But Kuvira looked up at her with eyes free of judgement and full of concern, intently watching her reactions. Opal didn't know how to feel about that.

Kuvira bit the skin on the underside of Opal's breast, then trailed her tongue between them, teasing a kiss. She kept rocking her clit against Opal's thigh as she moved up to kiss her lips, her fingers still keeping their pace. Opal hadn't expected this, how excruciatingly lovely it felt. Kuvira's kiss was again, surprisingly gentle. Even when Kuvira's touches burnt, her lips were soft and smooth.

Opal's fingers scrambled and caught Kuvira's shoulders, she couldn't do anything else but cling to the metalbender and will her to move faster, harder, and then with such unbearable slowness Opal could almost fall over the edge, just to have Kuvira pull her back to agonizing safety. The game had changed, permanently.

Opal's thighs were shaking and her hips jumped whenever Kuvira touched her clit, gently rubbing the butt of her palm against it as she moved her fingers in and out of Opal. Opal could barely feel Kuvira's touch; her hips were getting numb and air was burning inside her lungs. Pleasure sparked and bloomed, but it was the undercurrent of desperation that Opal felt the most.

She felt like there was an itch beneath her skin that she couldn't even touch. In Kuvira's arms she didn't even have the power to try but Kuvira was taking care of that for her, a problem presenting itself as the solution. She rubbed her fingers against a spot inside the airbender that made her snap up and grab onto her, groaning loudly.

She couldn't even think about trying to make Kuvira feel good too, but Kuvira was moaning softly above her. Kuvira's voice, her deep, throaty voice, was whimpering in and out of existence. Opal felt like she was melting under the metalbender's gaze. Was this enough for her? Was fucking Opal enough? That was too to think about.

She could only hold on tight and hope that Kuvira could guide her back down from wherever she was taking her. She could feel Kuvira's heat, slick on her thigh and spilling onto the floor, as she ground down on Opal, fucking her with her fingers. She was moving faster now, pressing into Opal as she pressed onto her, hips rolling.

Opal's hands were on Kuvira's neck, moving her hair out of the way to touch the skin there. Kuvira kissed Opal's chest and her free hand moved up to stroke her breast. "Ku-Kuvira," Opal mumbled, unable to focus. She couldn't control her hands, they wandered, gripped Kuvira's shoulders, her neck, her hair. Her body was shaking and Kuvira easily deduced why.

Kuvira was touching places in Opal she couldn't reach by herself, drawing noises out of her she didn't know she was capable of. Her touch on Opal's breast was firm and confident, and Opal was helpless in her arms. Kuvira's breathing grew more unsteady and she ground down on Opal harder, and Opal felt her fingers tremble before Kuvira removed them from her breast to grip Opal's hair.

Kuvira's palm was brushing against Opal's clit, and the metalbender's hips were twitching under Opal's hands. They were both so close. Kuvira had moved down to kiss Opal's neck but she was shaking. Opal gripped Kuvira's back and arched her hips, trying to get more of Kuvira's touch. Her legs were spread wide as they could be despite Kuvira trapping one between her own.

Opal felt so hot, crowded against the desk by Kuvira. The muscles in Kuvira's back twitched as she fucked into Opal, and Opal felt her start to lose control over her body. Her head rolled back and Kuvira pressed her face into the crook of her neck, shuddering. Opal couldn't help but get louder with each thrust and muffled her cries against Kuvira's chest. With one last thrust Opal's world became lost.

Opal's snapped up as pleasure blanked out her mind. In the brief moments before, Opal wondered briefly why she was doing this, why Kuvira was doing this, and then all she knew as Kuvira, and how good she felt. Then pain, in her shoulder, but even that felt right. Opal shuddered and twitched and let herself go.

When she came back she found herself still clenching around Kuvira's fingers; Kuvira kept her hand inside Opal while she rested on her, pressing her into the desk. Then throbbing pain. When Kuvira had come she'd bitten Opal's shoulder. Opal's head rolled back onto the desk; she could hardly feel it. Kuvira's weight felt good, secure, but the desk was digging into Opal's back. The airbender felt dizzy, like she was in the middle in a body of water, just drifting. Kuvira ran her thumb down the skin on Opal's shoulder. It didn't hurt much at the moment but she knew it'd bruise.

Kuvira pulled her fingers out of Opal, triggering another quick flash of pleasure. How was it so easy for Kuvira to reduce Opal to this? Opal's body hummed as Kuvira cleaned them up, letting Opal lazily rest on the desk. She helped Opal get her suit back on and bent her own uniform back into place. She looked Opal with relaxed, satisfied eyes.

"Perhaps if you'd made your intentions clearer we wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble," she said. Her voice was hoarse. Opal couldn't tell if she was gloating or not; she'd come and Opal hadn't even touched her. It seemed like Kuvira was being hopeful.

Opal's legs were still unsteady to stand on and her heart was still beating hard. Kuvira tidied up her desk and Opal watched her silently for a moment. Her hair had come completely undone and pooled around her face. The sight of Kuvira almost humbly fixing up the mess they'd made stayed in Opal's mind as she turned to walk out the door.

She could have left before this had happened so Opal wondered for a moment if it had been worth it. For a few seconds Kuvira had managed to have honesty wrenched out of her. Whether it was the right decision or not Opal didn't regret it. She hoped she didn't hurt Kuvira when she leapt from the train, but she suspected Kuvira knew enough about her to not be disappointed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: sex, kissing


	22. #2: Ruin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: body image, pda

Another drawing. Here it is on [tumblr](http://kuvopal.tumblr.com/post/136515641418/2-ruin-i-never-liked-the-previous-drawing-i-drew), and the [original](http://kuvopal.tumblr.com/post/106120003898/you-dont-care-about-equality-this-is-about) black and white version.

 

**174 AG**

 


	23. Chapter Twenty-One

**174 AG**

When the sun rose in the morning Opal was surprised to discover that area she'd leapt into from the train was located a little west of Yi. She could recognize the scenery from her and Kai's route to the state; the mountains were very distinct in this region of the Earth Kingdom . . . Empire. Her location meant two things to Opal: that the Earth Empire's trains were extremely fast, and that it would take her about as long to reach Republic City on foot as it had taken Kai to reach the Northern Air Temple.

She headed towards Republic City, alternating between walking and gliding, with a surprising lightness in her heart. It felt good to be outside again and away from Kuvira, away from the pain Kuvira made her feel. She felt like she'd finally left the woman, like the feelings that had been bubbling up inside her had finally come to a resolution. All this time they'd been riding with the blinds shut and Opal had had no sense of direction and she was glad that she was closer to the action than she'd thought she was.

When she finally arrived in Republic City she wasted time finding Air Temple Island. It felt good to be in a city again, surrounded by people that kept on living their lives; the noise they made was soothing. It was early in the morning and the city was cast in a pink and purple sheen, just beginning to wake up. The world hadn't crumbled with her absence, a lesson she'd never had the time to learn but was glad to find to be true.

When crossed over to Air Temple Island the first person to notice her, and probably the only person awake at that time, was Jinora. "Opal!" the shorter girl called out, smiling brilliantly and walking up to Opal. "You came."

"Yep, sorry I took so long," Opal said, hugging the shorter girl.

"You didn't miss anything," Jinora confided. "Korra's mostly been meeting up with her friends in the city, and dad and the president have been blustering about Kuvira but not actually doing anything." Opal could've guessed that; Kuvira had never given her any indication that she was being attacked and she would've been at least more visibly stressed out. But still . . .

"Nothing?" she asked. Jinora shrugged.

"They're inviting the leaders in the Earth Nation to talk about what to do with Kuvira later today," she said. "So Firelord Izumi, Prince Wu, and President Raiko will be there."

"Did Kai tell you about the camps?" she asked. "The prison camps?"

"Yeah," Jinora said, her voice softening. "Awhile back. They know, it just hasn't changed anything."

"Really?" Opal asked, voice getting embarrassingly shrill. She stepped back and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry."

"No, I understand," Jinora said. "Don't worry, Opal, we'll figure this out eventually." Opal nodded tensely. She thought she'd been wasting time with Kuvira, turns out her time would've been just as wasteful here. "Your aunt's been looking for you," Jinora offered.

"Lin?" Opal asked. That was a surprise. It wasn't as though Lin couldn't tolerate Opal, they were a lot more like family than they'd been three years ago, but her aunt had never been the one to initiate contact between them. "I'll find her," she said.

"Don't worry, she told me to tell her when you arrived," Jinora said. "She'll find you. Now that you're back, just relax, you kind of look like you need it." Opal flushed and pushed her hair behind her ear. She probably did look like a mess. "And your bison arrived," Jinora added.

"Really?" Opal asked, leaning forward.

"Kai sent him over when he got Lefty," she said. "I'm a bit surprised that you and Juicy didn't arrive at the same time." Her sentence trailed off on the tone of a question. Opal didn't really want to tell Jinora where she'd been or why Lefty had become separated from her. She was glad that everything had worked out but in the awareness that it could have not, and she'd risked it on such a poor reason, made her feel ashamed.

"Where is Juicy?" she asked, changing the subject to something she was much more interested in.

"He's at the stables," Jinora replied, pointing into the distance. Opal thanked her, hugged her one last time, and set back running down the hill with excitement fizzing in her veins. Opal spent a few hours at the stable getting reacquainted with Juicy, reassuring the giant animal that she was still alive and getting used to his pungent scent again, and then walked around the island for awhile.

She found the kitchen and helped Pema made sandwiches. She was pretty hungry after all the travelling she'd done and she sat outside by the stables, devouring sandwich after sandwich in the sunshine. She'd been exhausted the past few days but she'd found a new source of fuel at Air Temple Island. The world was finally letting up a little and she took her time to enjoy it.

When she came across Korra playing with Naga she voiced her worries about her family. Korra tried pacifying her but before Opal could press the topic further Jinora came to them with worrying news. She told them about a disturbance she'd felt in Republic City. Korra, with a newfound ability, saw all the way back to the swamp just outside Zaofu. Opal reluctantly let go of the stillness she'd felt earlier and moved on.

They raced down to the conference, and the tenseness Opal felt about Kuvira that had started to abate had come back, more biting than ever. Kuvira was harvesting the spirit vines, one final 'fuck you' to whatever hopes Opal had about any decency Kuvira had left. Opal had to stop being so surprised by Kuvira and how well the woman could hide her intentions, it never did her any good.

One thing Kuvira hadn't lied about was her faith in Bolin's survival. He burst into City Hall not long after Korra and Opal did, sputtering about what Korra had seen. Kuvira was creating a weapon harnessing the energy from the spirit vines. Opal quietly watched him as he and Varrick explained what they'd seen. Opal was rationally glad that he was here but she was too shocked to feel it.

It wasn't until she saw him, standing in the middle of City Hall mimicking explosions, that she realized the gravity of what she had done. She'd cheated on him. She'd cheated on him with someone like Kuvira. While they'd technically broken up Opal knew what she'd done was wrong. Opal quickly put those thoughts away, trying to focus on the larger picture.

Despite the information that Kuvira kept camps and was harvesting spirit vines for weapons she would surely use against her enemies, nothing happened. The world leaders were against action. The only thing that changed was the Opal felt like a terrible person. Bolin caught Opal and tried to apologize, but all he did was make Opal feel worse about everything. However, just because she'd done an unforgiveable thing it didn't mean that he was somehow blameless. She needed to think.

It was her aunt who saved her from Bolin, taking her by the shoulder and promising her that they would rescue their family. It was the first bit of reason Opal had heard in a long time. She spent the night at her aunt's place, a cluttered apartment clearly intended for one person. Lin left her alone so she took the time to consider all that she'd learned.

In the border between evening and night Opal soaked in her aunt's bathtub as Lin prepared dinner. Opal watched her dark skin prune in the water and let the bad feelings wash over her in pulsating waves. Self-pity was useless but Opal couldn't cry or her aunt would realize that something was wrong. Opal had to let the bad feelings rot inside her.

The joy she'd felt about leaving Kuvira and coming back to a city dissipated in the face of reality. Even while she knew the stakes had only gotten higher, she'd felt a temporary reprieve from all that had been going on. While she'd wasted her time and failed to stop Kuvira, when she'd slept with her it felt like they'd both finally acknowledged the depth of Opal's feelings for her and that was a relief. Seeing Bolin again reminded Opal that it wasn't that easy.

If she was going to be honest, she'd inherited her mother's trait of lashing out on others when she was actually angry with herself. It wasn't as though Bolin hadn't screwed up, but it was equally true that Opal had screwed up more especially since she'd known the type of person Kuvira was and he hadn't. Whatever the reason was that made her pursue Kuvira, made her kiss her, it wasn't good enough.

Opal wasn't used to making mistakes. Her entire life, the only thing that had ever kept Opal's self-esteem healthy was the fact that Opal was a good person. There were plenty of talented, helpful people that were cruel and Opal would take kindness over talent any day, even now. Opal had behaved cruelly towards Kuvira.

Kuvira had started it, of course; no matter how childish that logic seemed her and Kuvira's relationship to each other didn't exist in a vacuum. There was a lot Opal didn't understand about their relationship, if it could even be called that. Opal had thought she didn't understand Kuvira, but she was frightened about thinking about how she was losing her understanding of herself.

Opal would have never respected someone who'd cheat on her boyfriend to sleep with a dictator and yet she'd done exactly that. She'd forgotten everything. She thought that the only person she was hurting was herself, and she hadn't felt bad afterwards but that had just been selfishness. There had to be something she could do to make this right. Betraying her boyfriend was bad enough, betraying someone like Bolin was even worse.

Bolin, now he was a slightly easier topic for her mind to handle. She missed him. When they'd first dated she was sure that they deserved each other because she was a good person, and he was a good person. Opal refused to believe that it couldn't be that easy. They'd both made mistakes. Bolin hadn't trusted her, and Opal had had a momentary lapse in judgement. The consequences of their decisions were different, but if Bolin worked on making up for what he'd done Opal would work twice as hard. In actuality, there was no reason they couldn't fix their relationship with minimal pain.

She heard a knock on the door. "Dinner," Lin's voice rang through the wood. Opal nodded in the bath, water lapping against her chin, until she realized Lin couldn't see her. Opal murmured a quick yes, her voice was too soft. Lin heard her, though. Opal got out of the tub and dried her feverish skin with a towel. She took a quick glance at her naked reflection in the mirror. She looked at the purple marks inking the skin on her shoulder and swallowed. She moved on.

Lin had prepared them some stir-fry. Opal had changed into some of Lin's own clothes, her suit was being cleaned and Opal was wearing a white tanktop and some pants made of soft, black material. "No meat, right?" Opal asked timidly, wandering into the kitchen, dying her hair with her towel. She didn't want to be a burden, but . . .

Fortunately Lin shook her head. "Don't worry, kid," she said, sliding over Opal's bowl. "I remembered." Opal nodded and thanked her, beginning to eat. For the first few minutes of eating Opal couldn't taste her meal, she was too worried that Lin would ask her where she'd been but the police chief did not. She didn't ask Opal anything at all, she quietly ate her meal instead.

Opal wondered just how much she had in common with the woman sitting across from her at the kitchen counter. Opal was probably more outgoing; if their situation had been reversed she would've spoken to Lin by now. The silence wasn't uncomfortable however, like her first dinner back in Zaofu had been.

Her aunt's quietness was reassuring; in a way Lin was letting Opal have control of the one situation in her life where she could have any. Perhaps it was just that Lin didn't know what to say to Opal, or that she didn't want to speak to her. Perhaps it was a combination of all three but Opal still felt grateful. "When will we leave?" she spoke up.

"Two days," Lin replied. Opal eyed the scar on Lin's jaw.

Opal had probably become soft and idealistic from all the time she'd spent alone with her books. She'd developed a romanticized notion of love, one that didn't involve pain but instead involved each party working to make the other one a better person. Her conversations about love with Kuvira hadn't stopped her from thinking about what love was or could be on her own time.

She'd based her views in part on her mother and father's relationship, the two of them literally creating a city together and fulfilling the other's potential. Yet, Lin bore scars from a loved one. Opal had thought she'd found the kind of love she thought was true love with Bolin, one with no scars, but here she sat with the knowledge of all that had happened to her.

Talking with Bolin later, she figured out that he knew that they'd kind of broken up. She'd thought he might not have, but he probably improved on picking up on social cues in the three years they'd been apart. There was a chance he'd noticed it before she had. She'd never really actualized it to herself . . . too much had been happening around her, but then again, a lot had been happening around him.

When she'd slept with Kuvira she didn't feel like she and Bolin were together but she'd never said to herself that they'd broken up. In retrospect, she felt like they had. Clearly he felt that as well. Though this was all true, and even while she was angry at him for what he'd done, she did want to get back together with him. She was angry that he'd inadvertently let her whole family be taken from her, but she was equally angry with herself for the same reason.

If she told him what she'd done, which she would she just needed the time to . . . figure out exactly what it was she'd done, she knew Bolin wouldn't be angry with her. Bolin, for all his flaws, wasn't a mean or angry person. He'd be hurt by Opal's mistake the way Opal couldn't be by his. Perhaps this time, with her aunt and Bolin, she could make it up to him and tell him what she'd done after this all was over.

She couldn't let herself be with someone who'd supported Kuvira, and she wouldn't let him be with someone who did the same thing. He didn't deserve it. Opal's heartbeat quickened. If they defeated Kuvira together, they'd be able to fix what they'd both broken. What happened between her and Kuvira had happened while she and Bolin were broken up, and right now she was too ashamed to tell him. If they defeated Kuvira, they'd both deserve each other again.

The solution was simple, and Opal knew in the back of her mind that it was flawed, but it let her feelings settle for awhile. Lin, either reading the mood or not wishing to speak, never brought up any small talk and they finished their meals in silence. Afterwards, Opal washed the dishes and Lin tidied up the leftovers.

As Opal let the warm water run across her hands, another feeling crept upon her and gripped her viciously. She knew what Kuvira had done, but for a moment the desire hit Opal so strongly she swayed a little, knees knocking against the counter. Opal wished her whole family was with her now, but she wished Kuvira was as well.

"You alright?" Lin asked. Opal gritted her teeth but she couldn't stop tears from searing her cheeks. She turned away from Lin but her aunt walked up to Opal and cautiously put her arms around her. Opal choked, trying to suppress a sob, and she started coughing. "Come on," Lin sighed, pulling Opal into her arms. Dry sobs started wracking Opal's body and Lin led her to the couch and they fell back into it.

Lin, clearly uncomfortable, let Opal hang onto her and cry into her chest. Eventually the woman's discomfort melted, and Opal indulged herself in the gentle forgiveness she didn't deserve with a quick, silent promise she'd work well to earn it. But tonight, tonight she just needed to mourn all that she'd lost and for the sacrifices she needed to make to reclaim any of it. Eventually Opal ran out of tears and fell asleep to a pounding headache and the heartbeat of someone she knew she loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: food  
> Other notes: if a ship doesn't have a fanmix, [is it a real ship?](http://8tracks.com/ajaegerpilot/destruct)


	24. Chapter Twenty-Two

**174 AG**

Opal was glad that she had savoured the time she'd been given and then the world started moving again, faster than before. Bolin had been the one to ask if there was anything he could do to reconcile their relationship and Opal had suggested the solution she'd thought of two nights before. Lin hadn't been happy about it but she let Bolin sit next to her and chatter away while Opal coaxed Juicy southwards, back to Zaofu.

They left in the evening to avoid being spotted during the night and they arrived in Opal's hometown in the early morning, when the earth was just beginning to warm. If they were tired from the past night's journey, the sight that greeted them was more than enough to wake them up. Zaofu looked like a gutted corpse, the bones of the city were naked, exposed. It was an ugly, terrible sight, and one Opal couldn't understand.

Kuvira had stripped the city of its domes and Opal had never been given any indication as to why. Bolin, who'd spent a markedly longer time with Kuvira, hadn't known of this plan or why it had been enacted either. They kneeled in the grass on top of one of the mountains Opal had dreamed of hiking on when she was a child, observing the ruins and wreckage.

Speculations of the state of Zaofu and the safety of their family were cut short. Toph Beifong, the world's first metalbender and Opal's grandmother, emerged from the forest and told them what she suspected had happened. Lin was reserved but Opal ran up and hugged her grandmother without hesitation.

With her grandmother riding with Opal and the scraps of family she had left, the airbender was momentarily happy once again. Lin was less than pleased, as was her custom. It turned out that Opal's grandmother had been living in the swamp just outside Zaofu, the same swamp that she'd taken Opal hiking through when she was younger.

However, Opal's joy couldn't outshine Lin's resentment; the ride was tense and awkward and Bolin, despite his efforts to alleviate it, only exacerbated it. As Opal guided Juicy under her grandmother's directions, her mind wandered. She had time to regret her words to Bolin back in Republic City. She'd implied that she was something to be won, and now she wished she could have rephrased it.

Bolin was acting ridiculously goofy again, and in all honesty it was annoying her. She liked his goofiness, it was one of the things she loved most about Bolin, but it depended on the context. When they were happy, his sense of humour could make her laugh harder than anyone else could. But he was silly when they weren't happy. He only got sillier when situations got tense because he wanted to diffuse them, but the world didn't work like that. She felt selfish because his behaviour grated on her nerves.

She still cared for him, she wanted to be with him, but she didn't want to constantly call him out on his weird behaviour. She knew that he could tell, and that that it was part of the reason he was acting so ridiculous even when the situation was so grim. She guessed neither of them were comfortable with each other anymore. It kind of hurt, but she couldn't blame him.

When she was younger Bolin had been so fascinating, so different from Opal. When they'd first started dating they'd quickly settled into something more comfortable, but she always knew that the initial attraction had been half the fact that he was super cute and half the fact that he was everything she was not.

She hadn't initially known that he'd starred in movers, that he'd travelled the world with the Avatar and been a champion bending fighter in Republic City. But he'd given her reason to admire him when he revealed that he had been poor and with his own skill, and the help of his brother, he had risen up and become someone accomplished.

And then he had revealed himself to be the gentle doofus that he actually was, and she liked him all the more for that. She was boring compared to him but he never made her feel that way. Opal had gained many regrets in the past few years but dating Bolin would never be one of them. They had never been unhappy . . . until now.

He spent the first few months after Zaheer's capture hanging around Opal at the airbending temple in the north. With no great enemy to fight, and Korra leaving for her rehabilitation, Opal had noticed that everyone was a little aimless. Asami, Mako, and Bolin helped transport more airbenders to the temple for awhile. After Asami left Mako tried to get back into police work in Republic City but it was clear he wasn't interested in the work anymore even though he was still good at it.

Asami was the first one to get her life back together, throwing herself into her city and producing inventions and innovations in quick successions. Opal wondered now how much of that came from just wanting to keep her mind off of Korra. They all wrote to the Avatar, Opal had written a few letters herself when she could to offer Korra her support. She suspected, however, that Asami wrote Korra more often than anyone else did, and made sure that she had a lot of subject matter to discuss.

Asami had offered to join Korra at the South Pole and help her recovery from the injuries she'd suffered at the hands of Zaheer, so Korra telling her to stay must have hurt a little. The Avatar must have known that Asami was going to be vital in repairing Republic City but if she'd said the word Asami would have dropped everything to come with her. Opal had noticed the way Asami looked at Korra, like she needed to protect the master of all four elements. It was sweet in a way that hurt to watch.

As it was, with his brother gone and pretty much all the airbenders who wanted to be Nomads collected and practicing alongside his girlfriend, Bolin had nothing to do. Opal was busy with her training but in her spare moments they'd sneak off on dates, have picnics, do nonsensical happy things. He was antsy though. He had always been a doer, even if he was a follower. He didn't want to leave her though so eventually she took him aside and told him it was alright. They promised to stay together and give a long-distance relationship a try. Bolin left for the Earth Kingdom and Opal continued with her training.

There were not enough trained airbenders to interfere in the chaos of Ba Sing Se. Opal heard that Kuvira and her brother had left Zaofu and were trying to get the capital under control. In her letters to Opal her mother had been angry, but Opal could tell she worried about her son and Kuvira despite it all. Kuvira succeeded in getting Ba Sing Se under control and she was appointed the Interim President of the Earth Kingdom. For Suyin, that was where the insult of Kuvira leaving began to turn into a betrayal.

Mako eventually was hired as a bodyguard to escort President Raiko to the newly tamed Ba Sing Se. Having proved himself capable, he was hired to be Prince Wu's bodyguard on a temporary position. From what Opal could gather, he'd learned to appreciate his police job more after looking after Wu but the prince had taken a shining to him so it was settled. Mako had barely left his side in two years.

As time went on, Opal and Jinora and other airbenders resumed the nomadic part of the airbending culture, helping people as best as they could. Opal and Bolin exchanged letters whenever possible and when their paths coincided they'd take a day or two to catch up with each other. He wasn't one of Kuvira's higher ups at first; he originally was just going around the Earth Kingdom and helping. Back then it seemed innocuous. Back then Kuvira seemed innocuous. Things changed.

By the time she finally started to believe the rumours and distrust Kuvira and her brother years had passed and Bolin had ascended through the ranks. Opal had no doubt that it was strategic, even though Bolin was qualified. He was a lavabender, a celebrity, and had ties to Zaofu. Opal telling him that he couldn't trust Kuvira had no impact on him when she saw him again. Feeling like he was useful and doing good things kept his eyes free of all the bad he was doing as well.

Kuvira eventually began to conquer towns and cities with very little pretence and throwing non-earth benders into work camps, forcing them to work for her. She'd tried so hard to cajole Opal back in Yi, to pretend that she was doing nothing wrong. After Zaofu things had just begun to spin out of Kuvira's grasp but true to her character the metalbender just gritted her teeth and hung on tighter.

And now here they were, Opal, Bolin, Lin, and Grandma Toph, at the factory where Kuvira housed her spirit cannon. Opal, since airbending had no use in the situation, was keeping watch from on top of the factory that had housed the cannon. She had her eye on Kuvira, her brother, and Zhu Li down below. Bolin had trusted Zhu Li, so when she saw her brother panicking about the machine malfunctioning she wasn't surprised.

He stopped the machine from doing whatever Zhu Li had rigged it to do, much to Opal's relief, but when she saw Kuvira approach Zhu Li, and then soldiers take her away toward the target town the words fell out of Opal's mouth without her noticing. _"Oh no."_ They planned on killing her.

As soon as she could, she flew down to her family to let everyone know Kuvira's plans. Bolin was resolute; even while they'd accomplished all that they'd set out to do, rescue the Beifongs, he wanted to save Zhu Li. He ran off after her, not expecting any reinforcements. Opal called after him, and she realized her mistake.

Lin had been right. She hadn't expected Kuvira to be so lethal, or for this mission to be as dangerous, but it had been and she'd put Bolin, someone she had betrayed, in danger. She had to return the favour or she wouldn't be able to live with herself. She told her family to escape, and she airbended herself onto her bison. She had to go with Bolin, and as swiftly as she'd reunited with her family, she had to part once again.

She took to the skies and didn't have to fly far to catch up with Bolin. He hopped on, with a look of gratefulness she couldn't bear to see, and they flew towards the abandoned town. It didn't take them long to locate Zhu Li. Kuvira's army had metalbended her hands into a tall metal tower, and Bolin began warming the metal with his lavabending until Zhu Li could break her hands free.

Then, Opal's body was thrust against the structure in a gust of hot, strong wind. A sound filled her ears like a deep, resonating bellow. She looked overhead and saw the mountain, eaten away. Her ears were ringing from the explosion. Bolin moved swiftly, freeing Zhu Li's hands, and they leapt onto Opal's bison. They had to tell Opal's family what they'd seen. She urged Juicy to fly faster when she saw the fighting.

By the time they reached them the brawl had resolved, and Grandma Toph had rescued them. Opal's family quickly got onto the bison and Opal took off one last time, relief making her feel dizzy. Her whole family was with her, she had them all again, and Zhu Li, and they were all safe. Baatar still stood at his fiancée's side, even though the woman had tried to kill Opal, but Opal couldn't mourn that.

Something else ate at her while they flew off, something sharp and deadly. She hadn't expected Kuvira to hold back on her account. But she also hadn't expected it to hurt so much. After the initial rush of exhilaration had petered out, Opal felt a pain she was unfamiliar with. Kuvira had tried to kill her, or rather, Kuvira hadn't cared enough to try to stop Opal from being killed. She was worth that little to the metalbender.

Opal was grateful for the solitude in holding Juicy's reigns and guiding him to a clearing far away from Kuvira and her army. She was in shock, and she was cold and alone at the front of her bison. It was understandable. Kuvira had nearly killed her and Bolin, but even that thought paled to the destruction of the weapon.

In the time she'd spent with Kuvira she'd never been given any indication that the woman was building anything at all, particularly something so powerful. She'd thought that when she'd left the train she'd left Kuvira but Kuvira was not something she could avoid, no matter how hard Opal tried. Kuvira had nearly killed her, but the fact that it had been so impersonal was what stung.

She was at least grateful that no one could see her face. It was just as well that they couldn't, she wasn't in the mood to cry but they'd notice her blank expression and ask her questions she couldn't answer. She just clutched the reigns between her fingers and felt, letting the feelings choke her. By the time she found a forest to land in she'd decided her next step.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Three

**174 AG**

Opal landed her family down in a thick, bamboo forest and everyone piled off of her bison. They took the opportunity to stretch their legs and regroup and Grandma Toph said goodbye to her daughters and apologized to Lin. Opal had seen how much pain Toph had caused her, and while the apology was a little late she could tell that it mattered. Opal could only appreciate it from a distance, her mind was elsewhere.

Zhu Li, who'd been standing away from the group wandered over to Opal after Toph said her farewells. The nonbender thanked Opal for coming back to save her, and she asked Opal not to be too hard on Bolin. "His heart was in the right place," Zhu Li said, smiling at him with the fondness everyone grew to feel for him. Opal had no doubt about it.

"Actually, Bolin," she said, a sinking feeling gripping her chest. "I think we should talk." Bolin's face, that had been so bright looking at Zhu Li, fell.

"Alright," he said seriously. Opal began to walk away

"Don't take too long," Zhu Li insisted, turning to the rest of the group. "We have to get going. I'm afraid I have bad news to deliver to Republic City." Zhu Li had told Bolin and Opal what she'd learned when they had freed her in the target town. Kuvira was going to attack Republic City in two weeks. The couple didn't stick around to hear it twice.

Bolin followed Opal as they wandered over to the outskirts of the group, past Juicy and her father and brothers. Bolin was quiet but nervous. She stopped walking when they were out of earshot, and turned to look at Bolin. He looked better out of his army uniform. He seemed weaker than she'd remembered him being, probably from being held captive. But he seemed more anchored now, more solid and less fidgety. She hoped he was figuring himself out.

"Wait, before you say anything, I just want to say that I'm sorry," Bolin spoke up suddenly. "I know you were trying to get me to do the right thing here, but I never should've done it like you were some kind of prize. I should've done it because it's the right thing to do, you have every right to be angry, I shouldn't act like I won you or made up for what I did or -"

"No Bolin, you did," she said. "You did make up for not believing me when I said Kuvira was bad. And I was really unfair to you. I knew how bad Kuvira was, you didn't. I made it into an ultimatum because I thought, I guess, if I hinged our relationship on this and we won against her we could . . . somehow deserve each other again. That I could deserve you again."

He seemed confused at her words but she didn't feel like elaborating just yet, she had to tell him how she felt first. "Yeah, I was mad at you," she sighed. "But honestly? I was angrier at myself."

"What do you mean?" Bolin asked.

"I'll explain," Opal promised him. But she couldn't. What could she say to him?

"You're going to break up with me, huh?" Bolin asked her nervously. "I mean, not that we got back together or anything, but we're . . ." he took in a nervous, shuddering breath. She took his hand in hers and he calmed down.

Opal tried to find the words to start with, but she couldn't. It was too much, too far away from her ability. She'd slept with Kuvira, but worse yet, she wasn't over her and she couldn't find a way to explain that to him.

"I don't like steam buns," she blurted out. Bolin glanced at her. "They're vegetarian but I still don't like them." Bolin looked at her like she was speaking gibberish. She took a breath and tried again. "You know, if you'd asked to meet me I would've come," she said. "You didn't have to tell me you'd broken your legs, I thought you were seriously hurt."

A look of comprehension came over his face. "Well, you didn't have to say that you'd get back together with me if I came with you and your aunt," he replied, his understanding of where this conversation was leading making him wiser.

"I know," she said, putting her head in her hands. Bolin put his hand on her back, the gentle warmth of his palm calming her.

"I think," he said. "I think it was unfair on both of us to expect that we could just go back to the way we were. But when I said I loved you, Opal, it was the truth. I always thought that we'd grow old together but I . . . a lot of things happened. Lots of things changed. If you're going to break up with me, I'm okay with that, because I still really like you. If you only want to be friends, then I'll be happy with just that."

She didn't know what to say to something like that. He smiled at her, so brightly and childlike that it made her heart hurt. He slung an arm over her shoulder and let her lean against his chest. He took in a deep breath and sighed. She glanced up a little. He wasn't smiling anymore. "Love's hard," he complained.

"I'm sorry I didn't think better of you," she said. She guessed now that she thought so little of herself at that time that she'd forced her bad self-esteem onto him so that she wouldn't have to deal with it.

They hadn't needed Bolin to come. Lin had explicitly said she didn't want Bolin to come. But Opal had wanted it, wanted to get back together with him and wanted them both to deserve that. In the end, neither of them deserved this relationship - Opal had made choices that had created her into someone she couldn't subject Bolin to.

"I'm sorry I didn't show that I could be better," he replied. Opal frowned. She had to tell him. She'd put it off long enough. She'd lied to herself, to Bolin, to everyone else she cared about. She had to let him know that breaking up with him was the best thing she could do for him because right now she wasn't worthy of him, even with all the mistakes he'd made.

"Bolin," she said. "When we were broken up I . . . Went to Kuvira." Bolin's mouth dropped open almost comically. "I nearly killed her. Bolin, I can do what Zaheer did." Bolin's face was grave, he understood what she meant and nodded seriously. "I stopped, obviously. She captured me." Opal bit her tongue. "I slept with her."

"What?" Bolin asked. He was silent for a moment, analyzing her words.

"I was the one who . . . " she trailed off, hanging her head and feeling revolted with herself. Shame sat on her chest and choked her. Bolin nodded slowly to himself. He didn't run, or yell at her. She craved his anger and disgust, but it was Bolin. Spirits, it was _Bolin._  Opal _knew_ that telling him would do no more than hurt him, but lying to him would be an insult, a disrespect he didn't deserve.

All in all it went a lot better than Opal was worthy of. She was pretty sure he'd just been in shock and went along with it. She'd kept the details brief but made sure he knew the truth. After some silence he turned and looked at her with pained eyes. "I guess we really are over then." His voice still sounded hopeful. How could he still want to be with her?

"You'll find someone better than me," she said. It wouldn't be difficult but Bolin shook his head.

"That's not possible," Bolin said, tears starting to well up in his eyes. "You're the best person I know!" How could he even think that? "Opal," he said, letting go of her to get her full attention. "If you can forgive me for the mistakes I've made, why can't I forgive you?"

"Because I can't forgive me!" she yelled. "You didn't know what you were getting into, I did! You left her and I chose to stay with her."

"You're here now," Bolin said, stumbling with excuses for her.

"I was still a hypocrite," Opal said. "I told you to leave Kuvira and as soon as I got the chance I followed her. At least your heart was in the right place, mine was just -" She choked off. "Even when I was a nonbender, there was one thing I knew about myself - that I was a good person. I was nice, and I had high standards for myself and everyone I loved. But it turns out I'm just as bad as everyone else, and I'm even worse than them because I think I'm not."

"Do you think Kuvira doesn't think she's doing the right thing?" Bolin asked. "No villain knows they're a villain and sits around rubbing their hands together except in movers!"

"But if that's true, than what good am I?" Opal asked. Bolin was silent for a moment, confused. "If I'm not good, than what good am I?" Opal yelled at him, tears falling down her cheeks. "Bolin, I'm essentially useless, and I've always been. My only good trait was that I was nice, a good person, but now I'm not even that. You shouldn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"Opal, you don't have to be perfect!" Bolin yelled, grabbing her shoulders and getting her attention back to him. "Everyone makes mistakes," he pressed on, voice pained. "Everyone. Even you. Everyone's selfish and messed up and sometimes we think we're doing the right thing even when we're not."

"You don't have to be perfect to be worth it," Bolin said, holding her as she cried into his shoulder. She didn't deserve this but she couldn't help it. She'd needed to hear those words. "If that was true my brother would've left me to fend for myself a long time. You don't need to be good, or nice. You can be mean, and screw up, and still be worth loving. I still love you, I'll always love you no matter what you do, and I'm sure you still love Kuvira."

"I don't love Kuvira," Opal broke off, wiping her eyes and nose. "How could I, when all I do is hurt her and all she does is hurt me?"

"Sometimes love is like that," Bolin said, shrugging. It had never been like that for them.

"That's not love," Opal said firmly, voice cracking. "Love is when you try to help achieve the other person to accomplish their best, and they do the same for you. That's not who Kuvira and I are to each other. If I know anything, I know that."

"Opal," Bolin said, grabbing and hugging her. "Love doesn't have anything to do with how good you are. And I'm positive you tried to help her when you went to her. Didn't you try to get her stop?"

"I tried to kill her," Opal reminded him, wiping her eyes. Bolin flinched. She could tell how badly he wanted to forgive her. "Even if I did love her, I don't think there's any way I could make her see all the terrible things she's doing, and make her stop."

"You made me see," Bolin said. He'd never been in the position Opal was in now. "Just . . . Opal, if you want to be a good person again, which you don't have to be," he said. "And you know that someone you care about is going down a path that's going to hurt them, what do you do?"

"What?" she asked.

Bolin flushed. "I don't know," he said, somewhat sheepishly. "You'd always answer those kinds of questions." Opal swallowed.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked, drying her tears. "I was so unforgiving towards you even though I knew it wasn't really your fault."

"I guess all I'm trying to say is that you can't just forget about her just because she made a mistake," Bolin said after a moment. Opal's nails bit into her palms. Was that what she'd tried to do with him? She'd given him an opportunity to make up for it but, she realized he was right. She felt like Bolin had matured more in three years than Opal had her entire life and for the first time ever she actually felt like she was younger than him.

"Are you telling me I should forgive her?" Opal asked. He'd done that for Opal and she couldn't understand how Bolin could but she was grateful for it.

"I'm telling you that if she matters to you, you have to think about that," Bolin said in a soft voice. "Kuvira has her heart in the right place, too. She really does want to unite the Earth Empire so that everyone will be protected, and safe, and that we can all be as safe as Zaofu was. She's become too extreme though, but I guess she thinks she has to be." Bolin's affection for Zhu Li had surprised Opal but she had somehow never connected the possibility that Kuvira and Bolin might have been friends. He, in many ways, knew Kuvira better than she ever did.

"I can't understand why she's doing all this," she said, hanging her head. "But I guess if I care for her I should try to help her." Bolin nodded and smiled a t her. She hugged him tightly and murmured into his shoulder, "Juicy likes you, you can convince him to fly without me."

"You only have two weeks, alright?" he reminded her, hugging her back. "Stay safe."

"I love you, you know?" she asked, voice breaking as she stepped away from

"Yeah, I know," he smiled even though she knew it hurt. She gave him a quick, tense smile and turned around to leave.

Her family was safe now. She'd finally had a long-due conversation with Bolin, and they knew Kuvira's next move. Kuvira had warned Opal that the next few months would be like nothing she'd ever dealt with before and Opal was worried for her. If Kuvira was going to attack Republic City in two weeks time, Opal had to see her before that.

There was a lot Opal didn't know, and even more Opal didn't understand, about Kuvira, their relationship, and even herself, but Opal was forcing herself to get more comfortable with the uncertainty. Bolin had forgiven her even when Opal had betrayed him to such an extent.

The worst outcome of going to Kuvira was nothing happening, but the best outcome was getting Kuvira to stop. If there was even a chance, Opal knew now that she'd have to try to save the ones she'd cared about, even when they made her hate them.

Opal didn't bother grabbing food or drink. She moved with a new kind of certainty and disappeared without a goodbye to her family. She knew Bolin would take care of them and placate her mother. It took her hours to reach the factory her family had been imprisoned near. By the time she arrived the cannon had been repaired and the train was preparing to leave.

She flitted up to the train and pulled open a door. She clambered inside the head and immediately darted into the room she knew was Kuvira's. The metalbender would not go inside her bedroom until it was late at night, and even then it was likely she'd spend time in her office. Opal was safe there, for now. She let her heart calm down and collected herself.

With a brief moment of peace, she glanced around the room. It looked vastly different when the metal shades weren't caging her in. It was as sparse as it had been in Opal's last visit, but the room was brighter and airier. She sat on the bed and looked outside as the scenery began to move, and then blur, in front of her. She sat by herself and waited for night to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: food mention


	26. Chapter Twenty-Four

**174 AG**

The train pulled over at twilight and Opal clambered off so that she wouldn't be discovered, stretching her arms. It wasn't so close to nightfall but the light was dimming quickly, encouraged by the black clouds that lay as thick and impenetrable as the domes of Zaofu had once been. The world was cold and falling to darkness; the air electric with the promise of a storm.

Opal glanced around and saw a few of Kuvira's people surveying the landscape. She hid behind a tree and they walked forward into the night, lighting their way with lanterns. This was something clandestine, perhaps behind the forest there was another disconnected town for them to destroy, or another prison camp they were checking in on. Then Opal noticed her.

Kuvira hands were clasped behind her back as she paced away from the train. Opal watched her survey her surroundings, face hard and slightly bored. Kuvira caught the arm of someone in her army and spoke into their ear, but Opal was too far away to hear what she told them. The soldier and nodded and headed into the train as Kuvira stepped further away from it.

She began walking in Opal's direction, not with the determination of someone who knew she was there but Opal still instinctually retreated, falling back into the forest. Up in the sky, thunder sounded and Opal's fear pricked into existence. The voices of Kuvira's people were far away and unhearable in the thick, stormy air. With that, day abandoned Opal completely but at least she wouldn't be seen.

"Opal?" Kuvira called out. Opal cursed internally. Of the few colours left in the twilight was the red of Opal's uniform; Kuvira must have spotted it through the trees. Opal stayed still, feigning nonexistence, but Kuvira's expression had collapsed into something poisonous, shrewd.

"Spying on me?" she asked. Opal's face burned; she hadn't intended on Kuvira seeing her before she revealed herself but since she couldn't hide anymore she wouldn't. Opal moved out of the cover of the tree and kept her pace steady and strong as she walked up to Kuvira. She could barely see the metalbender in the darkness.

"You nearly killed me with that spirit beam," Opal spoke up angrily. Thunder purred in the distance and rain began to hit the dirt around them. The clouds Opal had seen earlier had finally started fulfilling their omen.

"You nearly killed me once," Kuvira replied dismissively, lightening glinting off the metal bands of her uniform. "And we're both here, aren't we." She said that in a way which sounded matter-of-fact but it was just cruel. She'd been insulted by Opal leaving her, but why she seemed so hurt was beyond Opal's understanding.

"I didn't come here to spy on you, or kill you," Opal said, stepping closer to Kuvira. The older woman's posture readjusted; she was on edge. For once, for maybe the first time, Opal approached Kuvira without the other woman holding something over her. Kuvira no longer had her family, and Opal had let go of her childish admiration for Kuvira.

However, Bolin had told her that she was in love with Kuvira and disagreeing with him had sounded like a lie. She needed to find out . . . how she could love someone like Kuvira. In all honesty she still didn't completely understand her feelings - loving Kuvira was contrary to all that Opal had ever thought love was. Her idea of love never involved sacrificing her principals like she was doing now, she didn't know if it was possible for her to love someone who did the things Kuvira did. She knew being with the woman was the only way to find any answers.

"Why are you here?" Kuvira asked. Her hair was soaked with rain now, thick tears of water ran down her cheeks and off the edges of the metal plates of her armour. She didn't lose eye contact with Opal throughout their silence. Opal stepped closer to her, killing the distance between them. It had been so naive to think that she'd gotten over her, over this, whatever this was.

Opal wouldn't kiss Kuvira this time, wouldn't cajole Kuvira into kissing her back, wouldn't make her any unsaid promises. She just rested her hands on the cold metal bands and looked into Kuvira's eyes, counting the triangles her stuck-together eyelashes formed. Kuvira's hand combed through Opal's waterlogged hair, finally resting on Opal's neck. She lifted Opal's head up to meet her lips.

Then they were kissing in the night, Kuvira grasping Opal against her. Kuvira's skin was cold and wet and the metal on her suit bit into Opal's flesh. She couldn't care less. She fell back to lean against a tree and Kuvira pursued her. The rain and wind was cold but Kuvira was warm and insistent, pressing Opal against the tree and covering her body with her own.

Opal's feelings hadn't disappeared, they'd been buried, and Kuvira was scratching them to the surface with ease. Kuvira bit her lip harshly and Opal moaned. Embarrassing. Kuvira bit her harder and shoved her into the tree again, the bark jabbing into the flesh on Opal's back, and the space between Opal's legs throbbed so hard she almost lost her power to stand.

Kuvira was angry with her, angry that she'd left that night instead of obediently staying behind and letting her walk over her. Opal was angry as well and she wasn't about to let Kuvira feel justified about it. She pulled Kuvira against her and tugged at the metal on Kuvira's arms, knowing that the bands were digging into her skin.

She bit Kuvira back, teeth clashing against teeth, trying to get a taste of blood, some weakness. The cold rain hit Opal's cheeks like shards of glass and Kuvira's hand slipped between Opal's legs and began massaging her through her suit. Opal felt herself melting in Kuvira's arms but Kuvira kept her upright, pinning her to the tree.

She wasn't going to come out here, like this, but she'd never felt like this and she wanted to hold onto the feeling, selfish as she was. The thunder rumbled, sounding so loudly it bit into Opal's bones. Opal pulled Kuvira against the tree so they could both rest against it, Kuvira's hands moving up to cup Opal's cheeks, and they kissed instead of breathing.

The rain carried on falling onto them, and all Opal could feel was the night, the rain, and Kuvira. The cold water pricked her skin and the distant thunder shuddered through her bones as the Great Uniter pressed Opal into the tree. Her kisses were softer now, her hands gently smoothed down the back of Opal's hair, and Opal pretended that the reason she shivered was the weather. The thunder raged and Opal could gladly get lost and die in the storm.

"Come on," Kuvira said in a rough voice as the rain soaked through her jacket. Opal could feel how her gloves were soaked with water when she took Opal's hand to lead her. "There's shelter around here somewhere."

The grass was shining with whatever moonlight had crept through the black clouds; the ground was slippery but Kuvira's grip on Opal's hand was secure. Opal could barely see anything past the darts of rain, but Kuvira, gingerly walking through the dark, eventually guided the both of them to a clearing from the forest.

There was no one else in sight, no light, no sign of life but a small village of metal shacks. They entered the largest one and found a deserted, but furbished, room. Opal kept herself busy building a fire in the abandoned fireplace as Kuvira surveyed the room they'd discovered. Opal pretended not to realize that there was a bed as she worked on the fire.

The room was quiet; the storm carried on its tirade outside but the walls of the building they were in had muffled the sound quite a bit. There was a small window from which Opal could hear the rain, chattering on the ground. Mostly what Opal could hear was the sound of Kuvira's breaths, still heavy from their kiss.

"You should get undressed," Kuvira said in a low voice after a moment. It wasn't suggestive. "There's no point in wearing wet clothes." In all honesty the suits had been designed to be waterproof but they did get cold and Opal knew Kuvira was right. Her hair was soaked and the water was seeping beneath the suit. "If you don't want me to look, I won't," Kuvira assured her, turning around.

"No," Opal said. Kuvira turned her head cautiously. "It's fine." She unzipped her suit and stepped out of it. Kuvira watched her carefully and Opal wondered if she found it attractive. Opal didn't feel attractive, she just felt cold. Kuvira looked at her with thoughtful eyes and suddenly Opal didn't want Kuvira to look at her anymore.

She walked over to her and put her hands on Kuvira's arms, pressing herself against Kuvira's chest. The metalbender's uniform was soaked. "You're wet too," she said softly. Kuvira pressed her forehead against Opal's, her hands clasping behind Opal's back. The water in her uniform kissed Opal's skin as Kuvira held her.

"Your hands are cold," Opal spoke again, plaintively, and she was surprised at how quiet her voice was. She cleared her throat and Kuvira took off her gloves, resting her hands on Opal's hips. Kuvira still didn't move. Her eyes had fluttered shut and Opal watched the flicker of the fire on her cheeks. This was a moment of silence but Opal's teeth still hurt from how harshly they'd kissed outside in the rain.

Opal threaded her fingers through Kuvira's and brought the older woman's hand up and pressed it to her cheek. Kuvira's eyes were open now and Opal met them, wordlessly willing Kuvira to go on. Kuvira's gaze darkened and she pushed Opal against the wall, next to the fire, kissing her neck. Opal shivered and let her.

Her kisses were violent at first, all wet tongue and sharp teeth, hot on Opal's freezing skin. Then she melted to something softer, transitory, and she pressed a kiss against the smudged bruise on Opal's shoulder. An apology for the roughness of their previous encounter. Opal sighed, and perhaps it was too gentle because Kuvira suddenly pulled her off the wall, into her arms, and pushed her onto the bed next to them.

Opal landed, her breath thrown out of her. Kuvira crawled onto the bed and leaned over Opal, placing her hand on Opal's ribcage beneath her breast. Realizing, Opal's hands grabbed Kuvira's jacket and accidentally tore it in her haste to get it off. Kuvira would have to have it mended, Opal felt a flash of satisfaction.

She continued ripping it open, feeling a grin spreading across her lips, and the metal bands surrounding Kuvira's neck and shoulders started raining down next to them on the bed, dropping onto the floor and sheets. With nothing anchoring it in place anymore, Opal got the jacket off Kuvira's shoulders. Kuvira kissed Opal's neck over and over, and slowly the cold she felt melted away, and Opal was left burning.

Kuvira pushed her onto the bed again and Opal spread her legs to accommodate her. Kuvira leaned closer to Opal until there was no distance between them, until all Opal could feel was soft sheets, skin on skin, and Kuvira's mouth on her neck. Her teeth worked the skin there, tugging and biting, kissing and sucking.

Kuvira was still angry though; perhaps about the jacket, perhaps still hurting from Opal leaving her the last time. She bit down onto the thin skin of Opal's neck and Opal hissed. Kuvira hadn't drawn blood, but she'd made herself felt. Kuvira pursed her lips and blew cold air onto the wound she was nurturing, then covered it with her mouth, sucking. Opal made another kind of noise and Kuvira bit her again.

She knew Kuvira was trying to mark her, trying to add her own personal touch to Opal's body, and it would've been fine if Kuvira had actually been touching her instead of teasing. Opal was feeling increasingly desperate but Kuvira was focused single-mindedly on bruising Opal's neck. She grabbed Kuvira's hair and tugged. Kuvira was irritated but she looked up.

Opal didn't know what to say. She hadn't come here for this, and Kuvira knew that. She was resentful that Opal hadn't just gone along with what she'd wanted, but her fingers trailed downwards, skimming across Opal's belly. She rested her hand between Opal's legs, cupping her gently. Opal turned away. She was sure Kuvira could feel how much she wanted this.

Kuvira's fingers trailed around Opal's clit, swiping back and forth as if she would like to touch Opal but wouldn't make up her mind. "Kuvira," Opal said, and she hoped she didn't sound like she was whining. Kuvira smirked and suddenly jammed her fingers into Opal, and Opal knew she must've winced because Kuvira looked triumphant.

The metalbender twisted her fingers against a spot inside Opal that made her cling to her and moan. "No," Opal grunted, fingers digging into Kuvira's back.

"No, what?" Kuvira asked, hesitating.

Opal's hands found Kuvira's hair and tugged, pulling the taller woman's mouth to hers. She bit her, spitefully, and Kuvira moaned like the sound had been punched out of her. She kissed Opal desperately and her hand moved smoother now, in and out of Opal, her thumb brushing against a part that made Opal's hips jump.

Opal spread her legs wider, inviting Kuvira in, and she started to lead the kiss. Kuvira seemed too distracted to fuck Opal and kiss her properly, though she tried. She kept breaking off and moaning, or getting caught up in the kiss and forgetting to move. Opal began kissing Kuvira with more confidence and Kuvira was lost, gasping and making little noises. Opal could feel the power she had over Kuvira and she wasn't even touching her yet.

Opal had never kissed Bolin like this, so thick and slow and desperately. They'd kissed of course, giddy teenagers groping each other and laughing. He'd gone down on her once but they'd never done much more than that. Whenever they'd reunite they'd spend their time together hugging and catching up, and she'd loved that about them. Kuvira had hurt Opal too much to want that for them, she didn't want to catch up with her. She wanted Kuvira to shut up and fuck her.

She bit Kuvira's lip, and Kuvira hissed and moved up against Opal to lean over her. Her hair had gotten loose and tickled Opal's forehead. Opal pulled her fingers through Kuvira's hair, smoothing it out almost as an apology. Kuvira leaned down and kissed her again, also softer this time. Opal's hands abandoned Kuvira's head and trailed down the backs of Kuvira's arms, feeling the strength there.

Kuvira was more focused on kissing Opal now, which was fortunate since it was Opal's turn to be distracted. As Kuvira kissed her it gave her time for her hands to drop onto Kuvira's hips and trail downwards.

Kuvira's posture stiffened as Opal's hand moved down to rest on her inner-thigh. To reassure her, Opal's left hand trailed back up Kuvira's ribcage, resting just beneath her breasts. A little apprehensively Kuvira went back to kissing Opal, who in turn leaned up and pressed kisses as sweet as she knew how to make them onto the older woman's lips. Kuvira made a little noise, and sighed a little. Was she happy?

Opal pricked at Kuvira's nipple accidentally and Kuvira's hips leapt a little. Kuvira broke from Opal's lips and looked at her, eyes pitch with something that looked like fear and excitement. She'd gotten too comfortable over Opal, but Opal found that she liked keeping Kuvira off-kilter. She slid her fingers into the metalbender and watched her reaction.

Kuvira's mouth dropped open and she stared at Opal like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Opal bit her lip and moved against Kuvira. She'd done this before, not quite like this. She knew the anatomy but touching someone else was foreign. Touching Kuvira was foreign.

Kuvira pressed a kiss against Opal's neck and started moving faster inside of her. Kuvira's fingers hugged against Opal's corners, slick now, moving in and out of the airbender with ease. Opal tried to find some common ground in Kuvira, trying to mimic her movements as best as she could. Kuvira looked down at her fondly, but it came off as condescending and it irritated Opal. She didn't know what Kuvira liked but she seemed to like that Opal didn't know.

Her left hand left Kuvira's chest and gripped the metalbender's neck, pulling her face down so her lips pressed against Opal's, so her body was flush against Opal's smaller one. Kuvira made a choked sound of shock but Opal didn't have time to listen to it. She began kissing Kuvira again, deeper and harder, while moving against her, trying to find a rhythm.

Kuvira kissed Opal back, the hand that wasn't inside the airbender was propped up near her head and had started to idly play with her hair. Opal tugged at Kuvira and the woman unwillingly moaned into Opal's mouth. Opal tried it again, moving more carefully now. Kuvira's own movements had slowed down, enjoying the moment and forcing Opal do the same.

Opal couldn't enjoy it though. Even though Kuvira was moving so slow and so good there was some sort of biting desperation moving through Opal's body. She was unbearably close to just losing control and quitting trying to finish Kuvira, if Kuvira didn't stop moving so agonizingly slow Opal knew she would just start to ride her fingers.

Opal found Kuvira's mouth again, having forgotten that she'd lost it, pulling her into kiss that she hoped told Kuvira how fast she was going to finish. Kuvira's breath stuttered in her throat and she started to move quicker against Opal, spreading her own legs wider. Sighing roughly with something like relief, Opal took advantage of Kuvira's invitation. She worked her fingers inside Kuvira with more confidence now, her free hand finding Kuvira's breast and massaging it.

Kuvira made little moaning noises, something more distressed than Opal ever thought she'd hear coming from her. Opal felt a hot numbness building inside of her, and felt herself slowly lose control over her movements. At this point all she could do was thrust into Kuvira and hope she was making her feel good. Kuvira buried her face into Opal's shoulders, breathing shakily.

"Please," Opal's voice whimpered to life. Kuvira's nose nudged against Opal's neck as she dragged her face up to look at Opal. Opal's body clenched down on Kuvira's fingers. "Please," Opal begged again. Please finish but please don't stop. Kuvira looked at Opal with something Opal hadn't seen on her, or on anyone. In the next moment Kuvira was coming.

When Kuvira came she came hard, moaning into Opal's shoulder like something broken. Opal was overwhelmed with a white, pleasant buzzing, a swarm carrying her away from her body. Kuvira came harder but Opal came longer; she was still twitching by the time Kuvira found the energy to pull her fingers out of Opal.

Kuvira rolled off of Opal and looked up at the ceiling, something peaceful in her expression. Opal watched her, overheated, breathing a wreck, still throbbing embarrassingly. Kuvira idly looked down at her hand, pleased with her handiwork. Then she slipped her fingers into her mouth and sucked. Opal's mouth dropped open and she pressed her knees together reflexively.

Kuvira rolled back onto her side and looked at Opal thoughtfully. Opal let her heart calm down and looked back. She was curious about how Kuvira tasted as well but she wasn't going to do find out when Kuvira was watching her. Instead Opal leaned forward and kissed Kuvira's lips. It was a small, soft kiss. Kuvira eyes shone nervously, darting around Opal's face. Opal was too tired to deal with that.

She moved deeper into Kuvira's arms and held onto her. Kuvira smoothed down the back of Opal's hair and pulled her into her arms. Kuvira smelled sweet and thick and soothing. Opal suddenly felt like crying but her face was pressed against Kuvira's chest and she didn't want her to feel her tears. Funnily enough, she felt Kuvira stir above her and noticed her wipe her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: sex, kissing


	27. Chapter Twenty-Five

**174 AG**

Opal woke up the next morning with Kuvira's arms around her. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting she looked past lids that were still unwilling to open completely. A stray bit of sunrise had found its way into the room but other than that they were both bathed in night still. The sheets piled around Opal were soft and warm.

Kuvira's face became defined first from the hazy darkness. She looked completely different when she slept. Her usual expressions were always a little tense, like she had to hold them together. She was calm now, brow smooth and mouth a little lax. Kuvira looked so harmless, and so helpless. Opal's mother had once tried to kill Kuvira as she slept but Kuvira hadn't been sleeping.

"I'm sorry I hit you back in Zaofu," Opal tried. Her voice was hoarse from sleep and sounded hollow in the bare room. Dawn was crossing over into the sky, sunlight starting to warm up the patch of world Opal could see through the shack's window. "No." She frowned. "I'm sorry I hit you and then kissed you. But I know where we are. And I'm wondering if I should've killed you." She hated saying it exactly like that, but it was the truth.

Opal knew that so much could have been avoided if she'd killed Kuvira back then. So much would've been sparked as well and Opal wouldn't have been able to live with herself, but Kuvira was getting further and further from redemption and more and more wrapped up in her own righteousness. It seemed like the only thing that could stop her was death. Opal had been needlessly violent to the woman in her arms, but killing her would have saved lives.

Suddenly, Kuvira's eyes opened, dark and catlike. She fixed Opal with a strange expression. "You could've killed me while I slept if you truly believed I was bad for the Empire," she said, stirring awake and reading Opal's thoughts. She sounded sleepy and nonchalant.

"This was one of your work camps, wasn't it?" Opal asked. She'd realized it as soon as she'd woken up, that she'd been sleeping in the bones of Kuvira's oppression. The metalbender's back stiffened as she attempted to reply to Opal's question.

"This was a mine before I gave the workers a reason to work," she said, sitting up and regarding Opal carefully. "The buildings are ours. Better accommodations than what they had before." The room was made of metal, and was as sleek and sparse as the train had been. Kuvira's workers, prisoners, hadn't been kept in inhumane conditions but they'd still been kept.

"Where are they?" Opal asked. Kuvira, who had been stretching gracefully in the cold morning air, paused and settled back into the bed.

"They did their part for the war effort," she said uncomfortably. "They've gone back to their homes."

Opal didn't know whether to believe her or not. Morning was coming and so was guilt. Their situation wasn't as simple as Opal caring about Kuvira; her feelings couldn't erase what Kuvira had done or was doing. While it seemed to Opal that Kuvira knew on some level that what she was doing was wrong it was even more clear that Kuvira wasn't repentant and had no desire to stop what she was doing.

"Have you killed anyone yet?" Opal asked. The metalbender steeled herself before answering the question.

"I haven't had to," she replied. Her morality lay suspended, dependant on the actions of other people.

"You nearly killed Korra and you tried to kill Zhu Li," Opal said. She added in a softer voice, "You almost killed me."

"I already told you it wasn't personal, besides, you saw how cleanly the shot went over all your heads," Kuvira said dismissively. "As for Korra, I knew you would stop me. At the cost of one city anyone would rescue the Avatar." She didn't want to talk about any of it.

"I doubt you had that all planned," Opal said coldly.

"Not everything," Kuvira replied. "But I'd be a poor leader if I didn't think ahead."

"You're not a leader, you're a tyrant," Opal snarled. Last night she thought they'd finally approached something more honest in their relationship but Kuvira clearly felt more comfortable playing games with her. Opal turned around in the bed, but not before she saw Kuvira smirk behind her. "What," she snapped.

"I was surprised you didn't stay to fight me," Kuvira said lightly. "That's all."

"You should be glad I didn't," Opal said, growing angrier at Kuvira's indifferent tone. She was dancing around the facts with practiced ease. "Maybe I actually would've killed you," she added spitefully. "Saved everyone the trouble." Kuvira flinched and Opal felt a rush of guilt. Kuvira only acted human when she was hurt.

Opal had to swallow down her feelings of remorse since in the end, even though she knew that being with Kuvira was a mistake, only one of them was a bad person. Opal turned her head away from Kuvira and went on, voice harsh. "Do you think that my staying with you means you're doing the right thing?" she tested. She felt Kuvira's gaze on her back, watching Opal with her wide, dark eyes. "It doesn't."

"Then why are you here?" the other woman asked softly. Opal couldn't tell Kuvira how she really felt, especially since she was just beginning to try to understand those feelings herself. What she felt for Kuvira was so much deeper and painful than anything else she had experienced, and those emotions had no place in war.

All Opal knew was that she cared for Kuvira and that Kuvira cared for her in return, in her own way, and that regardless if the Kuvira Opal had adored in Zaofu still could be salvaged or not, Opal had to try. Kuvira, however, was just as impatient as Opal and took her silence thinking about the question as refusing to answer it. Her expression darkened and she loomed over Opal, angered at how the airbender had seemingly declined to answer her question.

Kuvira's hand traced Opal's neck, sending ripples of apprehension down her spine. She leaned closer to Opal, warming her body, pulling her back into her arms."Do you still read?" she mouthed into Opal's skin. The question seemed innocuous but Opal knew better.

"When I can," she replied carefully.

"I wonder if you still like adventure stories," Kuvira asked, though it didn't sound like a question. Opal liked just about every genre that had ever been made available to her which of course included adventures. Each genre was an adventure in its own way, and the book Kuvira had returned to her all those years ago could have been qualified as such.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Opal said, voice hard with defensiveness.

"You've always craved adventure," Kuvira murmured, her voice deep and low. "You went out into the world, eager to help, eager to experience. Were you happy with what you found in it?" Opal realized she wasn't the only one trying to understand the woman she was holding, and she felt a rush of gratification.

But then again, they weren't understanding each other. There was some static screaming between them, because of them and who they were, which made it impossible for them to hear each other. Her thoughts were interrupted as Kuvira's hand reached up to stroke the bare skin of her arms. Opal's body tensed and her burned wherever Kuvira touched. Kuvira ran her thumb across one of Opal's many scars.

Falling and fighting had left Opal's once smooth skin jagged. Kai had once told her that all scars were was evidence of survival, and he'd collected his fair share prior to joining the Nomads. Kuvira looked at Opal's scars with a critical eye that Opal had never felt on her before. Her eyes were interested, but unemotional. Opal didn't say a word. She let Kuvira trace the scars with her hand.

"It was what attracted you to Bolin, wasn't it," Kuvira spoke up, finally voicing her intention. Opal didn't know why she was bringing him up. But then again, Kuvira didn't like to occupy towns, she liked to conquer them. She was afraid Opal would realize he was a better option than she was. She still hadn't told Kuvira they'd broken up yet, but she'd thought Kuvira would be able to infer. The woman's insecurity would almost be human if it wasn't concealing her need to control Opal. She didn't understand. Opal already knew Bolin was the better option. In every world he was the better option.

"Bolin isn't an adventure. I liked him because he was sweet," she told Kuvira. "He was enthusiastic and honest. I was interested in him before I learned about his past."

"But when he told you that story about being a poor, orphan boy, living on the streets of Republic City," Kuvira said, voice thick with insinuation. The way she said it made it sound like she had an intimate knowledge of what she was saying. It hadn't been the first time Kuvira had leveraged the three-year blank in Opal and Bolin's relationship against her; Bolin had worked with Kuvira and had probably told her of his past. "You always felt a little guilty about being born into your position of privilege."

"It wasn't a story," Opal scowled at Kuvira, shifting in her grasp. "And you know that."

"I didn't mean it was a lie," Kuvira said, pushing Opal back down, irritated. Her features smoothed out then and she moved closer to Opal with something restrained and catlike. "I just meant that you were as fascinated by him as you were by all your books." As fascinated with him as you were with me, Kuvira was saying. Opal barely stopped from rolling her eyes.

"Bolin taught me that you can be happy even after horrible circumstances," she said, hooking her arms behind Kuvira's back. Kuvira watched her movements carefully as Opal relaxed in her arms. Opal met Kuvira's gaze and said, "We're going to survive whatever hell you throw at us." Kuvira looked like she'd been slapped. Opal could tell that Kuvira genuinely thought that she was doing the right thing, and implying otherwise hurt.

Kuvira leaned down again, resting her body against Opal's. Opal could feel the muscles in Kuvira's back move as she inched closer to Opal. "You asked me a question once," Kuvira said, thumbing the scar on Opal's shoulder, a memento of the day she'd fallen from her glider in training. "You asked me if I was in love with your brother."

"I love Bolin," Opal said immediately. It didn't really matter that they'd formally broken up; Kuvira probably knew that they had and it also didn't mean that Opal had ever stopped loving him, even now. Even if there was a possibility that Kuvira had been Opal's first love, Bolin had lived that role in Opal's mind for three years and nothing would ever change that.

"We both know that isn't what I'm asking," Kuvira said.

"Why do you need to know?" Opal bit. "I'm here with you now."

"Yes," Kuvira said. "But you don't love me." Opal was glad Kuvira couldn't see her face. "I'm still the same person, Opal," Kuvira told her. Opal glanced back at her, craning her neck to glare at the metalbender.

"You may be the same person, Kuvira," she hissed. "But I don't recognize you. When I was a younger I couldn't find a single flaw in you. Now I can't even see who you are behind all that you've become." Kuvira's expression turned but Opal didn't let her start speaking, pressing on with her thoughts' momentum. "I remember who you were, though."

"Three years is a long time, Opal," Kuvira spoke up wearily, unwilling to let Opal guide the conversation.

"But not long enough for me to forget who you were," Opal responded fiercely. "I looked up to that person. It's just - frustrating, because I know I can never get her back and I can't, redeem the person she's become."

"If you're really so against what I've become, why are you here with me?" Kuvira scowled. "How can you be here with me when your peers and family are fighting against me?"

That was a sore spot but Opal knew the answer. "Because my peers and family are fighting against you. I trust them."

"Do you trust me?" Kuvira asked.

"You've given me absolutely no reason to trust you," Opal responded firmly.

"Then why should I trust you?" Kuvira asked.

"Because I'm -" Opal cut herself off. Kuvira really didn't trust anyone anymore, even Opal, a harmless kid she'd known back in Zaofu and had considered a good person once. "I - never wanted to hurt you. I know my family wouldn't want that either, not really, but if they knew - they'd understand me hurting you more than me being with you, like this."

"Why are you here?" Kuvira asked, completely perplexed, tired as though she was asking Opal that question more than Opal herself was.

"I guess I'm still just hoping that there's a chance that you could change," Opal said softly. "Someone with goals I could support, someone I could help and someone who would help me in return instead of just messing me up and making me worse." Kuvira's eyes had softened when Opal had spoken of helping her, but seemed irritated when Opal insinuated that she was hurting her. Opal pressed on desperately, "Someone I could -"

"Love?" Kuvira barked offhandedly. Opal's breath caught in her throat. Kuvira moved on. "You just said you knew I couldn't be redeemed. If there was hypothetically something I did that required redemption," she added. Opal's mood soured.

"Hypothetically," she mocked Kuvira.

"Hypothetically," Kuvira repeated with more force.

"I think you know deep down you've done some pretty messed up things. And even though I don't think at this time you're too late for everyone to just forgive you, I still think I could help you, you could still change. You don't need to do any of this," Opal murmured.

"And that's where you're wrong, Opal," Kuvira said, sitting up. "You weren't with me the past three years. Do you think your brother is an immoral person?"

Opal didn't know what Kuvira was getting at. "I don't think he's thinking about this at all," she replied, rolling onto her back and looking up at Kuvira. "I think he felt erased in our family and found a position of power with you. I also think he cares about you more than you think he does." He'd stayed with Kuvira even after she'd nearly killed Opal, he'd forgiven her for something it wasn't his place to forgive. Kuvira claimed that Baatar knew that she didn't love him, but she'd lied before, constantly and consistently.

"You care about me," Kuvira replied, ignoring Opal's insinuation. "You also didn't answer my question." Opal was silent. Kuvira sighed. "I'll answer it for you then; Baatar is not an immoral person. The difference between you and me is that you weren't there, you don't know what I had to go through. I'm doing what I have to do. I'm protecting my nation, nourishing it. We're stronger when we're all together, not when we're divided."

But you're doing it all wrong, Opal thought. Trying to kill the Avatar, nearly having Zhu Li executed, taking town after town without considering the good of the people who lived there, forcing people to work for her and threatening those with re-education if they didn't comply. Kuvira had congregated every state in the Earth Kingdom, but she'd still felt the need to conquer Zaofu and everyone knew that Republic City was the next town in Kuvira's sights. She couldn't understand the cognitive dissonance ringing between Kuvira's idealistic words and her brutal actions.

She kept hoping that Kuvira would realize what she was doing if Opal just kept Kuvira talking, kept Kuvira attached and human, but it wasn't working. Kuvira was just retreating further into her machinations, refusing to listen to Opal. All the same, Opal was tired. Kuvira had exhausted her yesterday and she wasn't used to fighting as much as Kuvira was. Kuvira, for some reason, wanted Opal to stay, so Opal would stay but she'd do it on her own terms.

She settled back into Kuvira's embrace. "I broke up with him," Opal murmured. "You know that, right? Before I came here." Kuvira said nothing, and Opal could almost hear the thoughts whirring in her mind.

Kuvira suddenly spoke up in the darkness, the morning still far away from them. Her voice more tentative than Opal had ever heard it. "On the train." she said. Opal listened, shutting her eyes. "Was that your first time?" Kuvira asked. Opal said nothing. Had it been? She hadn't expected Kuvira's mind to go there.

"Depends what you define a first time as," Opal said after awhile.

"Shit," Kuvira hissed, retreating from Opal to the opposite side of the bed. As she moved the sheets brushed across Opal's skin, cold air soaked her chest. Kuvira didn't look at her. She sat on the edge of the bed with folded arms and a pained expression. For the first time Opal had seen her, Kuvira actually looked disgusted with herself.

Opal snorted, sitting up and turning around to glare at Kuvira. "Oh, so that's where you draw the line?" she said, sounding high in childish in the bedroom. "Being my first? Prison camps are fine but being the first person to sleep with me, that's unforgiveable?" It wasn't as though it was entirely true, Bolin had gone down on her last year when they'd found some time together, but Kuvira had been the first person to come with her. Opal didn't know what constituted a 'first time', and she didn't particularly care, but it angered her to see Kuvira react like this.

"I thought you wanted me to get better," Kuvira said, glancing back at Opal, choosing her words carefully.

"Maybe I'm becoming more like you," Opal said, folding her arms. "More realistic." Kuvira frowned.

"You can be idealistic and realistic," she argued, voice high and insistent. The thought of being Opal's first bothered her. Opal wasn't a child, but Kuvira had known her as one, and perhaps this was the first time Kuvira ever considered that she'd done anything immoral.

"That only seems to lead to awful things," Opal said. "You can't even see that what you're doing is terrible. Maybe you can see that it's something wrong. But here you are." She looked at the ceiling. "And here I am."

"And here you are," Kuvira repeated, a little hushed. Opal knew then that there had to be something in Kuvira, some humanity still left. She also knew that it didn't matter. Opal pulled back the sheets from Kuvira, who was pulled with them. Opal turned around in Kuvira's arms and Kuvira's warm body pressed against her and welcomed her, arms threading through Opal's and holding her to her chest.

When Opal closed her eyes to rest she didn't think Kuvira interpreted it as a victory, or a truce, but a very temporary ceasefire. Kuvira wrapped her arms around Opal to hold her once more and Opal let her. Perhaps Kuvira was trying to do the same thing as Opal was, trying to sway the other over to their side. Opal had always thought of her goodness and morality as the most important part of herself and Kuvira had recognized it in Zaofu so Opal doubted she'd forgotten it now. Perhaps she thought if she could get Opal onto her side she could finally silence the doubt in her own mind about the righteousness of her actions.

Opal suspected, with a steady sinking feeling, that they were both realizing that they weren't going to get what they wanted. All Opal could hope is that she could find the part of Kuvira she did love and show her that what she was doing was wrong. For now, Opal would rest in Kuvira's arms and try not to waste her energy on hating herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: scars (not self harm)


	28. Chapter Twenty-Six

**174 AG**

When Opal woke up the next morning she woke up cold. She sat up and looked over to Kuvira's side of the bed, empty but still warm. The fire was taking in its last few breaths, and in a stack near the door was a pack of Flameo instant noodles. Yesterday, they had been placed next to the fireplace. The only person who could have moved them was nowhere in sight.

Opal still hung onto doubt, wrapping the sheets around her, she walked to the door and peered outside. It was a lovely day. The sunlight was yellow, gently diffusing through the thin fog that veiled the afternoon. Puddles of water had frozen on the ground, thick and still. Drops of rain left on the grass lit up underneath the sun. The entire scene was large, grand, and empty. Kuvira had left.

Opal felt anger sparking up and burning low in her chest. Kuvira was under the assumption that this arrangement was like it had been on the train, that Opal was a toy she could play with then set down and expect to find later. Opal walked back into the room, shutting the door and letting the sheet fall to the floor. The cold air pinched her skin, and combining with her fury, made her more alert and awake.

She found her clothes on a pile on the floor, and quickly dressed. She grabbed her pack, now empty of the provisions and supplies, and stuffed a few bowls of noodles out of spite. She slung the pack onto her back and hiked out into the forest. If Kuvira was going to leave then there was nothing to make Opal stay.

While the wind was icy, it was bracing. She'd spent many days like this hiking with Kai to their next location, so while the soft bed back in the old mining village was soft and seductive Opal was not going to stay there, wrapped up in Kuvira's scent, and wait for her. She felt disgusted that Kuvira had expected that she would.

It wasn't long until Opal found the train tracks. She knew she didn't have the best sense of direction but if she kept following them she'd eventually find a town. If Kuvira came back that way, Opal would jump off the tracks and hide. Bitterness sank in Opal's stomach. This had all been a gigantic mistake. Nothing had been gained from it, time had been wasted, things had only become more convoluted.

Bolin had told Opal that if she loved Kuvira she should try to help her. But why should Opal help someone who clearly didn't give a shit about her? Opal and Bolin's relationship had always fit what Opal thought love was - people helping each other get better not just for their own sake, but for each other. Opal had given up her self-respect and her standards for Kuvira, and Kuvira had sacrificed nothing in return. She just took from Opal than left her like she meant nothing. It wasn't going to happen again.

Overhead, Opal saw the train roll over in the distance and she moved into the shrubbery. She thought she wouldn't be noticed, and the train passed her without incident, but she watched it roll to a stop a half-dozen meters away. Kuvira stepped off the train and Opal swore to herself. She hefted her bag and began pacing towards the direction she'd come from.

Kuvira pursued her and it irritated Opal. She climbed further away from the road, heading into the brush of the trees. Kuvira had definitely noticed her, and traced her through the forest. Opal's movements quickened. Undignified, Kuvira began to chase after Opal. Opal began to run too; she didn't want to deal with Kuvira. It was a little childish perhaps, but Opal was too angry to feel embarrassed. Kuvira caught up to Opal with little trouble and grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop.

"Opal!" Kuvira yelled. "Where are you going?"

"I would've asked you the same question if you hadn't snuck away like a coward," Opal hissed, pulling her arm away.

"You weren't meant to see that," Kuvira said reluctantly.

"Yeah," Opal snorted, starting to walk away again. "I guessed that."

"Opal," Kuvira said, puffing up her chest and glaring. "I'm in charge of an Empire. I'm not going to put myself on hold to sleep with you."

"Don't worry about it," Opal said, turning around to glare at Kuvira. The words stung just as Kuvira had intended them to but if Kuvira thought Opal would bear them she was wrong. "You won't have to put yourself on hold for me anymore."

"Opal," Kuvira said, sounding regretful, grabbing her shoulders.

"No," Opal said. "Get your hands off me!"

"Wait," Kuvira said. "I didn't mean to insult you." Opal scoffed. Kuvira might've honestly been able to say she had good intentions for every other thing she did, but this wasn't justifiable and she knew it.

"Don't worry, it's fine," she replied, eyes wide open. Her voice was cold though her entire body was heating up. "I understand perfectly, since you didn't MEAN to insult me clearly it's my fault for feeling hurt." Kuvira shut her mouth. Opal scoffed. "Well, it was fun catching up after all these years, but since you don't even want to pretend to give a shit about me anymore, I'll get out of your hair now."

"Opal, I didn't want to hurt you," Kuvira insisted. "I care about you."

"Care about me?" Opal laughed bitterly. She narrowed her eyes and advanced on Kuvira, finally speaking the words that had been eating at her since she'd arrived. "If you cared you'd let me go. This isn't working, for either of us but especially not for me since I'm just a toy you can throw into a corner when you're bored. You said I was a good person once, but Kuvira you corrupt everything you touch, and I let you. You corrupt _me!"_

"Opal!" Kuvira snapped, grabbing her and pressing her against a tree. "This, what happened between us, you wanted this. Don't pretend that I seduced you into this, you came to me. Every time you came to me. _You_ kissed me, _you_ came into my office, and _you_ found me here. You wanted this every step of the way and I sacrificed _my_ time to indulge you."

That hurt. "Then why the hell do you want me around?" Opal said. "I'm not going to wait for you and forgive you while you oppress your people. Do you even want me around or is this just something you enjoy doing every now and again? Do you like keeping me? Or am I just someone who can reassure you that you're doing the right thing here, because I hope I didn't give you that impression."

"Can I make one thing absolutely clear for you, Opal?" Kuvira asked, irritated, letting go of Opal. "I'm not doing any of this for you, and I'm not going to stop doing this for you. I'm going to unite the Empire even if you don't like the means by which I do it. You're not some moral standard I'm holding myself to; this is something I have to do whether or not you agree with me."

Opal was shocked quiet. Something had changed in their situation, something she couldn't quantify. She had been certain last night that Kuvira's motivation for keeping Opal with her was to reassure herself about her actions. She hadn't doubted it, and even now she had trouble disqualifying the entire idea. Something had changed and while she was busy considering it Kuvira noted her silence and gladly filled it, preening.

"I want to create an Empire where everyone can fulfill their fullest potential, where everyone's safe and has every opportunity at their disposal," her voice was round and thunderous, like a politician's. "You may not like my means but of the two of us I'm the only one who's been successful in accomplishing my goals."

"Your 'means' are oppressive and inhumane even if your goals are something I would have agreed with once," Opal shot back, getting sucked back into another argument. "I wouldn't be able to be a part of your 'Empire' now; it's been twisted since its conception, you made it that way."

"Just what is it about what I'm doing that's so repulsive to you?" Kuvira asked. "When have I done anything that couldn't have been avoided if people set aside their pride and anger? If Zaofu had just complied with my demands Suyin would've remained ruler and none of this ever would have happened. She just resented me taking her son and she wouldn't see anything else."

"Maybe it was like that at first," Opal replied. "But you're the one who refuses to see now. What you're doing is wrong, why can't you realize that?"

"Everything I've ever done has had a reason that will help my people," Kuvira said. "Everything I've done is for the future of my citizens, for their strength and protection." More practiced platitudes; Kuvira believed them but Opal wondered if she ever got tired of hearing them too.

"Even Zaofu?" Opal asked. "What did you need Zaofu for so damn badly?"

"I'm the Great Uniter," Kuvira replied. "I took Zaofu because I know Su would never stand idly under our new Empire. She was civil with the Earth Queen but I knew that Su would take me down because it would be too personal. I gave her a chance to prove me wrong and she tried to murder me in my sleep, using her own sons as accomplices."

Opal flinched and Kuvira looked satisfied. She continued on, with a quieter voice, "We also needed Zaofu's resources, and Su proved that she would never help me, would never help my nation. Suyin would have ruled Zaofu as always, but she would've ruled not as a rebel state in constant fear of being attacked but as a state protected by an entire empire. Everything I've ever done served a purpose." Opal couldn't get into what Kuvira meant by resources.

"Then what about me?" she asked, voice breaking. "What purpose do I serve?" Kuvira opened her mouth but said nothing. Opal nodded, voice shredding itself. "I'll leave, then," she said. If Kuvira didn't want her to stay than there was no reason for Opal to keep up any pretence, regardless of her feelings for Kuvira. But when Opal started to move away, Kuvira's grip on her arm tightened. Opal paused.

"I do want you here with me, though," Kuvira's voice had fallen in volume. Opal frowned. It didn't mean as much as it used to, that Kuvira wanted her. She knew Kuvira wouldn't tell her why, and while she suspected that she really was there just to assure Kuvira that she was doing the right thing Kuvira denied it. If had been true before it wasn't anymore, Kuvira was certain that she was doing the right thing.

Kuvira suddenly let go of Opal's arm. "Is this," she said, breaking away from airbender as if she suddenly realized something. "Are you doing all this just to keep me from my work?"

Opal bit her lip. She suddenly felt so very tired. She turned to walk away, hefting her empty pack on her back, not even bothering to answer Kuvira's question. Kuvira's arms snapped up by Opal's head, leaning her palms against the tree, barring Opal ineffectually between them.

"Opal," she asked her, seeming to regret or decide to disregard her accusation. "For how long do you need me?"

"I don't need you," Opal replied, trying to move through Kuvira's blocking.

"So what do you want from me?" the older woman pressed.

"I want you to just stop," Opal said, sinking down from between Kuvira's arms to sit on the ground. "The world will go on without you." She pinched the bridge of her nose, she was getting a headache from all the stress. "If you think you're making a good empire they'll function whether or not you're there. Why do you have to leave?"

"You want me to stay?" Kuvira's voice was muffled from above Opal.

"Yes," Opal said, looking up at the metalbender, anger sparking one last time. "Or I won't!"

Kuvira bent down to kneel on the ground in front of Opal. "Alright," she said. "I won't leave."

"Really?" Opal asked, unable to keep the disbelief from her voice. Kuvira had to be tricking her somehow.

"Yeah," Kuvira said. She smiled cautiously and her hands twitched at her side like she wanted them to do something, but she balled them into fists by her side and kept them to herself.

"Thanks," Opal said slowly. She hadn't expected Kuvira to just . . . give up and settle. Not that easily. But she had, Opal was cautiously certain of it. Kuvira just sat there, quiet and almost tame. Almost like the person Opal used to know. Opal knew it wasn't permanent, it couldn't be, but it was different.

Opal leaned her head against Kuvira's chest and hugged her. Looking up at her she noticed the woman open her mouth then shut it again, the line of her mouth softening. Kuvira pulled Opal closer against her and they sat with each other against the tree. Opal could hear Kuvira's heartbeat, the slow steady drum marked with upticks of tension.

Opal finally had her family back from the dictator, most of her family at any rate. Baatar stayed at Kuvira's side but Opal couldn't really judge him without judging herself. The war wasn't over, Opal could feel it building on the horizon, but this - whatever gentleness there was left between this Air Nomad and the Great Uniter, that wasn't over either.

"Let's go back then," Opal relented. She threaded her fingers through Kuvira's and helped her to her feet. Kuvira seemed to walk on unsteady legs, and they wandered back to the camp in silence, their hands warming together.


	29. Chapter Twenty-Seven

**174 AG**

Opal didn't know what to say. She didn't know what she could say without fracturing whatever peace she and Kuvira had managed to forge. She could feel it in the air, how delicate it was, so she stayed silent. "Are you hungry?" Kuvira asked as they neared the abandoned mining town, the metal shining white in the sun. "I grabbed some supplies back on the train."

Opal's hand rested on her stomach. She was hungry, though she had been too angry to notice earlier. "A little," she admitted. She glanced around the scene. "Could we eat outside?" She didn't feel like going back into their makeshift home just yet. The darkness and the metal inside their shack made Opal think of cages.

"Sure," Kuvira said, digging into her pack. "I brought some fruit."

The blades of grass tickled and scratched Opal's cheek as she lay down on the ground, curling up and closing her eyes. The sun was lower in the sky now, and she enjoyed its gentle burn on her skin as she listened to Kuvira prepare their meal.

Kuvira walked into their shack and come out with a knife and some plates. She stripped off her gloves and washed her hands and the fruit with water from a bottle and carved them up onto a plate. Opal could recognize the scent of apple and moon peach. She felt tired with a content sort of ache. She shut her eyes and rested, every now and then glancing up at Kuvira to observe her. She still didn't know what to say to her.

Her silence was as much for her benefit as it was for Kuvira's. She didn't want to think about how this was just a temporary truce and that either she would leave or Kuvira would. They both had responsibilities. Neither of them knew why they were here with each other. No childhood crush was worth this level of degradation.

And it was degrading, no matter how gentle Kuvira could be. Opal flipped onto her back, tugging her undershirt into place. Opal had always prided herself on her strength in morality but it all became so easily unravelled when she was around Kuvira. She'd cheated on Bolin, tried to murder someone she cared about, and was now selfishly spending time with a dictator. The person Opal had been back in Zaofu would've hated her. She hated herself.

"Are you sleeping?" Kuvira asked, slicing up the last peach.

"No," Opal replied softly, opening her eyes and blinking purposefully. How long could they keep this farce alive? She turned herself away from Kuvira and sat up, looking across the scenery. She could see the beautiful, blue mountains in the distance, and as far as she could see everything was green and lush. The storms had treated the land kindly.

"It's been a long time since I've done anything like this," Kuvira spoke up suddenly as she leaned over Opal to place a plate of fruit in front of her face. Opal didn't turn around and as she didn't want to assume what Kuvira was talking about, she said nothing. Kuvira could've been talking about many things; taking a moment to relax in the sun, having a picnic, eating moon peaches for all Opal knew.

"Stayed outdoors like this," Kuvira explained. She was silent for awhile, grabbing her own plate of fruit. She added, "It was a long trek from Ba Sing Se to Zaofu," in a way that didn't require a response from Opal. Opal stuffed a chunk of apple into her mouth and chewed. She listened to Kuvira if only to keep herself from thinking about their obligations.

It made sense, what Kuvira had said. Opal had never spent a night outside of Zaofu until she'd become an Air Nomad, and after that it had become more common for her to sleep under the stars then under a roof. Kuvira, on the other hand, had gone from living in a metal dome to living in a metal train. She carried herself a little cautiously among the trees and grass and earth, like she was coming to terms with something.

Opal wondered if she was waiting for her to speak, but Opal didn't know what to say. Their situation was precarious enough as it was. Kuvira had brought Opal food, real food, not the boxed noodles Opal had become accustomed to. She couldn't tell if they were masquerading normality or genuinely trying it out. Ignoring their ideologies was impossible, they both had to know that, and yet here they both were.

"So," Kuvira spoke up softly as they shared the meal. "How long have you had feelings for me?"

"Oh," Opal said. That was one thing they could talk about. She took the time she needed to reply because in all honesty she'd never considered it before the question was posed. She hadn't realized her feelings for Kuvira ran deeper than just simple admiration until . . . until she started acting on them.

Looking back into her past she could see signs of her crush, and no doubt Kuvira could as well.

"I don't know if it began at any one point," she said softly. "I didn't realize what I felt for you until this year. I think it happened so . . . slowly, so gradually, that I could ignore it. And I did, for as long as I could. But after all that's happened, I just . . . couldn't anymore."

"What about now?" Kuvira asked. Opal's mouth still tasted like Kuvira or the memory of her even though the taste was flushed out with the flavour of the fruits she'd eaten. "What changed?"

Opal bit into another slice of peach, considering. She didn't want to insult Kuvira but words were as fallible as their speaker. "I couldn't pretend anymore that this wasn't how I felt about you," Opal replied. "I'd repressed those thoughts and feelings for so long that they just, lashed out of me. I should've just talked about them when I was younger and you would've helped me through them and none of this would've happened. But I was scared of those feelings so I ignored them. I didn't want to lose you."

"Lose me?" Kuvira asked, her voice barely audible. Suddenly, flaring up with anger, she sneered, "Half the time you talk to me you imply that I'm already lost." She clearly felt hurt whenever Opal stood against her but there was nothing Opal could do to change that. Of all things, Kuvira had no right to feel offended.

"I didn't want to lose who you were back then," Opal said, suddenly cold, a pit of anger and disdain growing in her stomach. "Maybe that's why I'm so willing to be with you now, I don't like you enough to pretend that I only want your friendship." Kuvira nodded, as though she wasn't surprised. Opal bit her lip.

Of course there were myriads of reasons for why Opal would never have told Kuvira she had a crush on her back in Zaofu. Opal had been a child and hadn't truly desired anything more beyond idle fantasies and she hadn't even desired those feelings because of the reasons she'd explained. If Kuvira had known Opal felt about her Opal would've been embarrassed beyond belief.

Now, after three years, she had no reason to be embarrassed but plenty of reason to be ashamed. She'd known that talking would be a bad idea. But it seemed liked Kuvira didn't want to talk anymore either. The metalbender was silent, finishing her meal without a glance at Opal. Opal couldn't tell if she was angry or indifferent.

The position Kuvira had claimed in Opal's life three years ago was one that was probably more intense than Kuvira could possibly understand. She had been Opal's role model, mentor, a source of encouragement and inspiration for the young nonbender. Perhaps phrasing it as though she no longer valued Kuvira enough to feign desiring friendship was incorrect, she'd give nearly anything to go back to who they had been to each other in Zaofu but those days had gone, and trying to hang onto them just hurt Opal.

All that remained of their old relationship was the embers of Opal's feelings for her. Kuvira had been her first crush. Bolin could claim the position of being Opal's first love but Kuvira, without even intending to, had awoken all of the feelings Opal was letting rule herself now. Opal had tried so hard to overlook those emotions but here she was, sharing a meal with a dictator, her enemy.

Opal put down her plate. "I don't want to fight anymore," she spoke up. It was the truth, if not the complete truth. She was tired of fighting Kuvira. She wanted Kuvira to stop her crusade, to submit to the Avatar and have this all done with, but she was realizing with increasing trepidation that it would never happen. And if Kuvira wasn't going to stop, Opal would have to leave but for now, in the few moments they had left with each other, she didn't want to fight her.

"Neither do I," Kuvira replied.

She was frowning. She'd finished her meal and she put down her bowl. Opal watched the sun beat down onto her skin and Kuvira let the metal bands holding her uniform together drop off her shoulders and waist. She left them in an orderly pile beside her. She washed her hands with the water from her bottle. "Your jacket," Opal noted. She flushed, remembering how she'd torn it in her haste to get it off Kuvira's shoulders.

"Zhu Li was an excellent seamstress," was all Kuvira had to say on the matter. She began taking off her jacket and Opal watched, breath in her throat. She found herself unable to look away as Kuvira reached her arms into the air, pulling her jacket off of her torso, tugging the fabric of her undershirt up to reveal a strip of her abdomen.

Setting her jacket down on the ground, Opal saw that her hair had become a little messed. Kuvira unclipped her bun and let strands of her hair fall around her shoulders. Opal pressed her legs together and let herself recline to lay on the ground, her breath shaking. She felt dizzy. The sun was all of a sudden too bright, the sky looked white and it burned behind her eyelids when she closed her eyes.

"Opal," Kuvira's voice came, sliding into Opal's mind. Opal felt like ignoring her, not out of callousness but out of desperation. She was reminded of how pleasant it was to listen to Kuvira talk.

"Yes?" Opal replied, hushed. Her cheeks were hot, because of the sun. Since her eyes were closed all she saw was red and she didn't dare open them. Her mouth was slick from fruit, the earth seemed to hum with the day's heat. Suddenly her vision went dark, blue, as Kuvira's shadow crossed her face, cooling her skin.

Nothing happened but every nerve in Opal's body was alive, anticipating Kuvira, needing her to set aside hesitation and act. It was almost a relief when Kuvira ran her thumb against Opal's cheek and tangled idly in her hair. It was soothing, comforting, in a way Kuvira's presence hovering above Opal was not. Opal tilted her head to lean into the palm of Kuvira's hand and cautiously opened her eyes.

Opal was no longer so helplessly enamoured with the metalbender as she had been all those years ago but Kuvira still some had power over her. "Want to wash your hands?" the older woman asked. Opal nodded, they were sticky from the peach and Kuvira poured whatever water remained in the bottle onto Opal's outstretched hands. Opal felt them dry in the sun as she watched Kuvira, unable to look away.

The sun framed Kuvira's face, the metalbender's hair coiling around her shoulders. Opal's heart thudded against her ribs as Kuvira glanced down at her. Opal realized that she could tell that Opal wanted her, even now. Opal could act as morally superior as she wanted to; her feelings for Kuvira were completely and utterly transparent.

She wondered if it coloured Kuvira's impression of her time with Opal in Zaofu, knowing about Opal's feelings. She'd never desired Kuvira the way she did now, and hadn't wanted to, Opal was all too familiar with boys who would feign interest in order to gain access to a girl romantically. That wasn't what this was.

She didn't _want_ to want Kuvira but she couldn't help it, especially when Kuvira looked at her like that. There was a good chance Kuvira knew this, because she leaned down ever so slightly and watched Opal's hands clench into fists. "Do you want to go inside?" Kuvira asked, eyes dark, it was almost a challenge. Opal's mouth dried.

Opal couldn't help but lean towards Kuvira and try to calculate the expression in her gaze. "Do you?" she asked her. Perhaps her voice came off more uncertain, more cautious, then she'd intended because Kuvira's face softened.

"Yes," she confessed, her free hand coming to skim across the bare skin beneath Opal's undershirt. Her hand rested on Opal's ribs, rising and falling with the breath in Opal's lungs. Kuvira's eyes were narrowed, she seemed to be thinking. Whatever was happening, whatever this was, it was so fragile and could be easily shattered if they thought about it too much, Opal could feel it.

She turned her body towards Kuvira, her shirt spilling out on the ground in a way that felt provocative. She reached a hand up to tangle in Kuvira's long, dark hair, easing Kuvira's face closer to her own. Kuvira leaned in and brushed Opal's bangs out of her face and rested her palm on Opal's jaw before lowering her lips to Opal's, kissing her gently.

Heat flushed inexplicably across Opal's body. Kuvira had come back, had agreed to stay. Opal didn't know how long that promise could last. Opal hated Kuvira's dream but she had no doubt of her conviction. Despite what she'd said, Kuvira would not stay at Opal's side for long, neither of them would. It was just a matter of who was going to leave first.

Kuvira pressed another kiss to Opal lips, then on her jaw, then one that rested on the space between Opal's neck and the collar of her uniform. There was a beat, and then she began to carefully undo Opal's clothes. Opal hissed as the cool morning air hit her skin, it was fresher than she'd expected. Kuvira hesitated and with that pause, and Opal having nothing to say to Kuvira, she reached up and pulled Kuvira's mouth back down to hers.

Kuvira's lips were soft and sure, they tasted like fruit. Her strong arms crowded around Opal, warming her bare skin and while Opal couldn't forget who Kuvira was and what she had done she could live with it, for a little while. Kuvira moved, planting kisses down Opal's body; pressing a line down Opal's chest as the zipper revealed more of her skin.

Opal lifted her hips as Kuvira pulled her suit down around her thighs. Her lower body flushed with heat and she sat still as Kuvira made herself comfortable. Kuvira spread Opal's legs and, after a moment, leaned forward and dragged her tongue across her. Opal moaned out loud and clamped her hands over her mouth.

Kuvira didn't move as fluidly as she usually did, but she still had that effortless grace that Opal had come to associate with her. She moved with dedication and fervour; Opal was unable to tell if it was Kuvira's skill that made what she was doing feel so good or if it was just Kuvira. It didn't matter. Opal spread her legs shamelessly and canted her hips towards Kuvira's face, even while her cheeks burned.

Kuvira gripped Opal's thighs and gladly aided her desperation, using the accommodating position to move against Opal almost methodically, like she was charting the airbender's body, finding what Opal liked best and repeating it, over and over. Opal was trembling now, overheated and desperate. "Stop," she said, not wanting to get swept away again. Kuvira obeyed, looking up at Opal with a hint of nervousness.

"Hold on," Opal murmured. She sat up and moved against Kuvira, getting onto her knees and pushing Kuvira against the tree behind her, kissing her with an edge she somehow couldn't soften out. Opal could taste herself on Kuvira's lips amidst the apples and peaches and another flavour she'd come to recognize. She kissed her deeper.

She made quick work of undoing Kuvira's pants and moving her hand inside them. Opal pressed her forehead into the crook of Kuvira's neck so that she could hide her face. Kuvira rested her chin on the top of Opal's head and Opal wondered if she could feel the heat of Opal's blush on her chest. Carefully, Opal moved until she found the places that made Kuvira's breath catch in her throat.

She was clumsy but Kuvira was patient, letting Opal find a pace that worked for both of them. Opal had never completely focused on another person like this and her mind kept wandering, blanking. She had Kuvira in her arms, pressed against a tree. Kuvira's hands were idle, at Opal's insistence, and she used their freedom to tug gently on Opal's hair. Opal could feel the heat emanating off her face.

She glanced up at Kuvira and saw that her cheeks were red, her lips curling with what Opal recognized as pleasure. Her eyes were shut, the line of her eyelashes dark against her skin. Opal pushed and pulled against Kuvira, trying desperately to remember all the ways Kuvira had touched her.

Opal tried reaching up and massaging Kuvira's clit with her thumb as she moved in and out of her. Kuvira's free hand reached up and grasped Opal's back, surprising Opal. Kuvira's nails would've bit into Opal if she didn't keep them filed short. Steadily, Opal's mind turned back to the task at hand, and Kuvira's hand became comforting. Her palm warmed the skin beneath Opal's undershirt.

Kuvira's fist brushed against Opal's thigh. Opal glanced down and noticed two of Kuvira's fingers extended, like an offering. She bit her lip and glanced back at Kuvira. She was so quietly beautiful, flushed and dishevelled in the sunlight. Opal cautiously moved to rest over her fingers and then slowly sank down on them.

She couldn't help the whimper that fell out of her mouth. She shook her head, getting back some of her focus, when she felt Kuvira smile against her neck. She pressed Kuvira down onto the ground. She was unwilling to let her have the upper hand, even though it didn't seem like Kuvira felt that it was a competition.

She continued moving inside Kuvira, her free hand reaching up to grip Kuvira's breast, as she lifted and sank on Kuvira's fingers. She couldn't make eye contact with Kuvira but she saw her in the corner of her eyes, pressed into the ground, her hair spilling out into the grass. She distracted herself from the woman beneath her by focusing on what she was looking at, rather than who.

Running her nails across Kuvira's skin, she concentrated on the feeling of Kuvira's chest beneath her fingers. She could feel Kuvira's heartbeat against her palm, or perhaps it was Opal's own restless pulse. She felt the hard muscle on Kuvira's torso, and she could feel Kuvira's fingers between her legs, and she'd think about her hands on Kuvira and in her.

Kuvira shivered and her spare hand snapped up and gripped Opal's hip. Opal bit her lip at the action and continued to slide her fingers in and out of Kuvira. Kuvira's breathing was heavy and Opal felt her restraint slipping away. She barely had the concentration to keep touching Kuvira but she rose and fell on the metalbender's hand without thinking.

She rolled herself over and over Kuvira's fingers, caught on the way her clit brushed against Kuvira's palm. She kept her movements inside Kuvira as steady as she could but she was losing her focus. She sucked air through gritted teeth as she rode Kuvira, her movements falling out of her control.

She tilted her head back and Kuvira leaned forward, propping herself up with one arm, peppering hot, wet kisses on Opal's neck. Opal descended, and her feelings pricked at her. She was going to finish before Kuvira at this rate and for some reason Opal didn't want that, for once she wanted to feel in control and Kuvira, looking beautiful and lost beneath her, didn't fight it.

Opal moved faster, desperately trying to finish what she'd set out to accomplish when she'd pushed Kuvira onto her back and climbed on top of her. She felt like she couldn't stop her own movements, she didn't want to. That familiar aching numbness was building up in her lungs and legs, her throat becoming raw with the noises spilling out of it.

She grabbed Kuvira breast with her free hand, still rising and falling on Kuvira's fingers, and kissed her. She frantically tried mimicking the movements that felt good on her, the kinds of things she'd perfected when she was younger, thinking about the woman beneath her. She didn't stop trying until she felt Kuvira clench down on her, wringing Opal's fingers in beats.

With that, Opal moved with the speed of someone who had been set free. She wrapped both arms around Kuvira's neck and start moving on her with abandon. Kuvira's hand crept beneath her undershirt to grip her back in a way that steadied her. The metalbender let Opal drive herself onto her hand, chasing the end with a need Opal hadn't known she'd contained.

Opal was trembling now, overheated and desperate, rocking herself onto Kuvira, desperately forcing the woman's fingers deeper inside of her. She leaned back and caught a glance at Kuvira's face, flushed and satisfied. Good. She leaned in again and gripped Kuvira's hair, slamming herself onto Kuvira's fingers. She felt feverish, and Kuvira's hand stroking the skin on her back only exacerbated that. Opal nudged her face into Kuvira's neck, gritting her teeth.

"Opal," Kuvira murmured after awhile. Opal bit her lip and ignored her; she picked and dropped herself onto Kuvira's fingers, but she'd gotten tired and it wasn't helping. "Opal?"

"I -" Opal said through gritted teeth. The first tears beaded at the corners of her eyes.

"Come on," Kuvira said softly. "You'll just hurt yourself if you keep going on like this."

Opal coughed. "Yeah, you're one to talk," she said, voice high-pitched and fractured. Kuvira looked partly hurt but mostly confused. Opal didn't know why she'd said that either, or why it felt like she was lashing out, but she let Kuvira push her onto her back, withdraw her fingers, and move back into the position they'd been in when they'd first started.

Kuvira wasn't wrong, her fingers had left Opal feeling raw with none of the pleasure that Opal had been seeking. But Kuvira's touches, when Opal wasn't driving them, were gentle. Opal glanced down and she could see Kuvira, her eyes bright and careful on Opal, slide her tongue inside her. It didn't feel as good as it had before, but it slowly began to feel better as time moved on.

Opal was still hot and dizzy, sweat pooling on her face and cooling in the air. Kuvira touches were so much kinder than Opal's had been, soft and tentative and a little uncertain. It didn't seem like Kuvira had done this kind of thing as much as Opal had thought she did. But she tried with an earnestness and humility Opal didn't know she contained, and it made Opal feel lost.

Kuvira made a small noise, and pulled Opal's uniform down around her shins, giving her more room to touch Opal. Opal threw back her head and moaned, and she could feel the tears trailing onto her cheeks. Suddenly she hated the position Kuvira had tugged her into. She needed . . . more, she needed friction and movement and faster, but Kuvira was moving so slow and she knew, Kuvira fucking knew how this felt but she was . . .

Opal broke off moaning, loudly and urgently. Kuvira continued thrusting her tongue in and out of Opal, randomly moving up to suck on her clit. Opal needed Kuvira's face beneath her, between her, she needed Kuvira to lick her and fuck her and let Opal, Opal needed to ride Kuvira's face so badly but Kuvira's hands were so strong, Opal could feel her muscles work as she held Opal's legs.

Opal's fingers scrambled for something, anything, to give her purchase to push up against Kuvira, but the ground was too soft, everything was too soft, falling apart in her fingers. She could only rest against the world and hope Kuvira could give her what she needed. She knew she would. Opal let herself go lax and Kuvira pushed her tongue into her again, licking her, moaning against her.

Opal's world was both soft and electric; every touch Kuvira accidentally bestowed on her shocked her like static. Opal's fingers dug into the earth beneath her and she let the little gasps and moans fall out of her chest without restraint.

But it was the way, the way Kuvira was, that affected Opal the most. Like this was the best thing she'd ever done, like if she had her way she'd never stop. Like she found Opal something precious, and then with something like a little fear - of Opal or of that feeling - like she wanted to protect her and like she was terrified of her. Opal was trembling, and then, so was Kuvira. As was their custom Opal had no idea who was in control, her or the woman kneeling between her legs. Perhaps neither of them were.

When Opal finally finished it came onto her out of nowhere, shuddering across her body and ending with a head rush. Kuvira held her, still moving against her, until Opal let go entirely. She felt Kuvira slowly lower her body to the ground, then move up and plant kisses on Opal's chest, her cheek, her forehead. Opal dazedly held onto her and Kuvira kissed her so sweetly.

"I'm sorry," Opal said breathlessly. The tears were falling from her eyes unstoppably now, thick and embarrassing. Kuvira had come, but not because Opal had worked to make it so, not because Opal had cared. It was so sloppy and imperfect and selfish and Kuvira was kissing her forehead, brushing her hair out of the way.

"It's fine," she promised, a little laugh in her voice, as though she understood why Opal was crying. "It's fine," she repeated, pressing a kiss against Opal's cheek. Opal sank into Kuvira's arms and Kuvira wrapped her into a secure embrace. She picked the airbender up and carried her to the bedroom, the plates forgotten outside.

Setting her on the bed inside the metal shack, Kuvira pressed a firm kiss onto Opal's back. She circled her arms around Opal and let her face rest against the nape of the airbender's neck. "Rest now," she said peacefully in her deep, throaty voice. Opal's hands found Kuvira's and she squeezed the metalbenders fingers in response, not trusting herself to respond verbally.

Kuvira held onto Opal until the sun sank into the sky. Opal listened to her breaths even out from exhilaration, to calmness, to the deep heavy breathing that told of deep sleep. Kuvira was a dictator, she didn't deserve any kind touch from Opal. Opal told this to console herself, but she was learning distantly that it was much more complicated than that.

Kuvira lay back in the bed, surrounding Opal with a gentle hold. Opal moved around in the bed, turning around to look at Kuvira's face. Kuvira was indeed, completely asleep. And Opal accepted the toxic feelings she'd been avoiding and ignoring. She took the time to consider her situation.

Kuvira wanted Opal by her side, Opal didn't doubt it anymore. Kuvira was willing to sacrifice a lot to be with Opal, just about as much as Opal had sacrificed for her - her dignity, her convictions. Opal had come to Kuvira, hoping to change her. Opal realized now that she couldn't change Kuvira, not when Kuvira didn't see her actions as needing redemption.

Kuvira was lost and Opal had not shown her the way out like she thought she would; Opal had wandered to try to find Kuvira and had gotten lost herself. Now, laying Kuvira's arms, Opal saw with clarity. As much as they would sacrifice for each other, for as many days as Opal could keep Kuvira pinned to their bed and for as many days Kuvira would do the same, it meant nothing because in the end a bed was the only thing they shared.

Opal had betrayed so much of herself for someone she knew was terrible. She'd never done that for anyone else, but she'd tried this time. It hadn't worked out. She no longer expected anything from Kuvira. She didn't expect that she was significant bartering material to make Kuvira cease her conquest. She also didn't believe that she meant nothing to Kuvira. All Opal knew for sure was that she couldn't stay.

She needed to be with her family. She needed to stand with the Avatar. Kuvira said she was a good person once. That was long ago and Opal no longer entirely believed it, but she wanted to be that person again. She couldn't be with Kuvira and be that person, regardless of what Bolin said. He was naive. Someone was going to leave this room in the time before the army reached Republic City. Kuvira had left first.

Opal looked at the woman's sleeping face, resting in an innocent expression that made her look years younger than she was. Opal would never have been able to guess that any of this would happen given all the time the world could offer. But it had and Opal knew that she wasn't enough to bring Kuvira back. Perhaps in the end that's where Opal's supposed goodness failed her as well. It didn't matter.

If Opal ever wanted to call herself a good person again she needed to stop kissing people she knew were not. Talking about her crush on Kuvira had reminded her why she had liked her so much, and it had demonstrated that Kuvira was no longer the same person. Bolin thought that liking someone was a good enough reason to save them, it was not.

Opal only wanted the best from Kuvira and in return Kuvira only brought out the worst in her. She'd stolen Kuvira's breath once, she was sleeping with her instead of fighting against her, and Opal had hurt good people because of how she felt about Kuvira. She didn't think Kuvira was intentionally trying to make Opal become a bad person but that didn't change the fact that Opal did become someone horrible when she was around her.

She'd been with Kuvira for days now and hadn't found the person she'd used to be, hadn't even managed to make her consider that what she was doing was wrong. There was a reason, there had always been a reason, why Kuvira wanted Opal at her side. But that reason, Opal could see now, wasn't important anymore. It couldn't be. Eventually, when the night was dark enough, Opal pulled herself from Kuvira's embrace and prepared for one final departure.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: food/eating, knife, sex, kissing


	30. Chapter Twenty-Eight

**174 AG**

A few hours passed with Kuvira's arms wrapped securely around her. Opal let her face rest on Kuvira's chest; the rise and fall of her breath was soothing. When Opal finally felt as though Kuvira wouldn't stir she got to her feet. Perhaps it was cowardly, perhaps it was only fair. She got dressed quietly and out of some sort of useless guilt she covered Kuvira with the blanket before started to walk towards the door.

"Did you dance much?" Kuvira asked from the darkness, not moving from her place in the bed. Opal paused. "After you became an Air Nomad," Kuvira clarified, sitting up. The sheets rolled off her body and Opal could just barely see the shine of her skin in the night.

"When I had to," Opal said, which was never. "Once, me and Bolin went out dancing." Her eyes adjusted to the night and she could see Kuvira clearer now. Kuvira looked small; a sliver of a person in the night. There was none of her usual posturing that would make her seem bigger than she was.

"I know," the metalbender responded. Her voice was thoughtful. "He told me."

"Neither of us can dance really well," Opal murmured.

"I know that too," Kuvira said, smiling a little, her white teeth cutting through the darkness. Sometimes Opal forgot that Kuvira had worked with Bolin for the past year or so. He had a habit of growing on everyone he met, so Opal wouldn't be surprised if Kuvira had genuinely liked him at a time. Perhaps they'd even been friends. "Would you like to dance?" Kuvira asked all of a sudden.

"Huh?" Opal asked, mind blanking for a response.

Kuvira shifted out of the bed, pulling on her shirt. "It's been awhile for me too," she said. "No time to practice." Opal considered what that phrase entailed, and decided that it didn't matter. Once, Opal was fairly certain, Kuvira had been trying to do good with same dedication that she demonstrated now. Of course Kuvira wouldn't have danced.

"Alright," Opal replied. Kuvira didn't ask her why she was wearing her uniform, or why she had a pack of food that she set on the floor. She merely walked outside of the room and into the night and Opal, tugged along by something deep inside of her, followed the familiarity like it was a sweet dream.

There was no music of course, just a soft breeze dancing across the frosted ground. It was colder tonight, not quite cold enough to see breath but nearing it. The moon was lovely and full, white like ice. Kuvira stood in the light in just a shirt and Opal admired the strength in her form. It was sort of sad, in a way. Kuvira was definitely stronger now, but the definition left no room for softness. The intensity of her strength and dedication made her look almost inhuman at times. Now Kuvira just looked lost.

Opal pressed her wrist to Kuvira's and remembered music. They both easily stepped back into old dances, Kuvira pulling Opal along into dormant patterns that the dance awakened. Opal turned her face to the darkness and bit her lip to hush a small smile.

Despite knowing better, this felt nice. Moving in time to an imaginary beat with Kuvira, never mind that they both knew Opal planned on leaving, felt good. "You've improved," Kuvira said softly, changing directions and giving Opal time to follow her lead. "It must be all the training you had to undergo as a Nomad." Opal nodded in agreement.

Their dance was graceful now, more graceful than it had ever been back in Zaofu. Opal was surer of herself and Kuvira no longer led her, they danced around each other. Opal wondered how they looked, two cold women in the night lit only by the moon. She wondered if an outsider could read their intentions. She wondered if Kuvira could.

Suddenly, she wished they'd never done any of the things they'd done together because in that moment, dancing outside to no music, it was so easy to love Kuvira. Opal had been poking and prodding Kuvira, trying to see who the woman had become and trying to find out if there was anything salvageable there. And Kuvira, Opal finally realized, the sweetness fading, had just been trying to prevent Opal from leaving.

Opal swallowed but kept dancing. She didn't know why Kuvira wanted her to stay; there was still a lot Kuvira wouldn't tell her, and probably never would. Opal had thought, and perhaps this was the closest the truth Opal would ever find, that if she stayed Kuvira would have her consent, a reassurance that what she was doing was right. She knew how difficult it was for Opal to put her morals on hold for everyone, but all the same Kuvira had denied this reasoning before.

All Opal knew, the realization sinking heavily in her bones, was that Kuvira probably had never even wanted to sleep with her. She'd wanted her approval but couldn't get it if Opal left, and so Kuvira had done the only thing she could think of to get her to stay. The realization saddened and sickened Opal. She couldn't tell who was using who anymore, but the necessity of her leaving only became more certain.

But it was this simple action, this awkward little dance, that gutted Opal and reminded her that while Kuvira had changed drastically in the three years they hadn't seen each other, she was still the same person. Kuvira back in Zaofu had been capable of all of this, and the Great Uniter still wanted someone to dance with.

Opal wouldn't insult Kuvira by pitying her. The dance slowly wound down to a stop, Opal orbiting closer to the metalbender. She fitted herself into her arm for a hug and Kuvira, without hesitation, held her back. They both knew, so Opal wouldn't pretend anymore. "There was only one way you could've made me stay," she said.

"My nation will always be more important than one person," Kuvira replied.

"I know," Opal said, looking at the ground since she couldn't meet Kuvira's gaze. "I'm just sorry you had to waste your time with me. I know why you slept with me."

"Opal, I wasn't trying to seduce you into -" Kuvira started angrily, arms tensing at Opal's side.

"I know," Opal cut her off. "You just wanted me to stay so that you'd have someone to give you justification for what you're doing."

"Opal, I want you to stay," Kuvira said, and her voice sounded reluctantly blunt. "But I wouldn't sleep with you because of that." She glanced away from Opal and over the moonlit landscape with a hint of pride. "I know that what I'm doing is right." Chills prickled on the back of Opal's neck. The moment choked. Bolin had been right, Kuvira's heart was in the right place. That was the problem.

"Then why?" Opal asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Does it matter?" Kuvira asked defensively. "You're leaving."

Opal had never dealt with this, with there being two answers to the same question of correctness. Nevertheless, Kuvira refused to see where she was doing wrong, and because of that there was nothing Opal could do to change her mind, even if she did love her. Opal was leaving, but she still had to know how Kuvira explained all the horrors she committed to herself.

"Why are you doing this?" Opal asked, the words brushing against Kuvira's shoulder.

"My people needed me," Kuvira said, stepping away from Opal gingerly. "Suyin turned her back on us, on _all_ of us. You lived in Zaofu your whole life but I did not, I couldn't just leave people outside of Zaofu to fend for themselves.  You may not agree with my methods Opal, but they're all necessary."

"You've completely justified it to yourself," Opal said numbly. She'd known this, she'd known this ever since the morning that followed the train. She'd probably known it before that, but she'd never acknowledged it. She'd wanted to believe that she could've changed Kuvira's mind but she was too far gone.

"I don't need to justify it to myself, it is just," Kuvira said with a smoothness Opal recognized as righteousness. "I'm not going to stop until I finish what I started, uniting the Earth Empire. If you still choose to stand against me then it always would have ended this way."

"But why is it so important to you? Korra's back now, she can take over this job, you can _stop_ now," Opal said, voice rising shrilly.

"The Avatar?" Kuvira sneered, unimpressed. "She's weak. I was the only person who was willing to do the job, and I'm the only one who knows what needs to be done." Kuvira easily fell back into her rhetoric that Opal, the Air Nomads, the Avatar, none of them could have stabilized Ba Sing Se or created a strong Earth Nation.

In Kuvira's mind only she could bring peace and thus everyone else, including naive inexperienced Opal, had no right to criticize her or make her think about what she was doing. She didn't see that creating something while sacrificing so much wasn't worth it. She was single-minded and yet there was one contradiction that she hadn't addressed.

"Then why the hell are you sleeping with me?" Opal asked. Kuvira fell silent. "You asked me why I was here with you, but did you ask why you were here with me? You told me I was a good person once. You made me believe I was one. But now, every moment I spend with you I become someone worse. Kuvira, I tried to kill you. Me, Opal Beifong, the matriarch's daughter."

Kuvira looked surprised at the change in topic. Opal saw weakness, sank her teeth into it, and held tight. "You got disgusted when I told you that you were my first," Opal said. Kuvira flinched away and Opal pressed on, "Whether or not it's true, you felt bad about it, like you'd wronged me. So even if you didn't sleep with me, or kiss me, or act nice to me to get me to stay with you because you thought I wouldn't stand by someone bad, I know you thought I was a good person, once." She spat out, as an afterthought, "I never tried to kill anyone before you."

"What, is it my fault that you -" Kuvira blustered but she looked unnerved.

"It's not normal!" Opal yelled. "What's between us. It's not good. It's fucking me up. _You're_ fucking me up. And if you're fucking up some random kid you used to help learn how to dance in Zaofu, I can't trust what you're going to do with your Empire. _You_ shouldn't trust it." Kuvira looked like she was fighting to absorb the words and Opal pressed on, unable to stop.

"You bring out the worst in me. And I can't find any goodness in you. I've tried, but being around you has just made me into someone I hate. So I need to go, I really need to," Opal concluded, deciding to be upfront for once. Kuvira's face flashed with something pained and furious.

"Then go!" she yelled in response. "But tell me the truth first. Why did you come here, Opal? If I'm so fucked up and cruel and thoughtless why _degrade_ yourself by being with me?" Her tone burnt with bitter sarcasm and Opal accepted it. When Kuvira took her breath, eyes shining with anger, Opal finally spoke the words she'd been chewing on for what felt like an eternity.

"I love you," she said, voice breaking. Kuvira said nothing. Opal bit her lip, hard, almost enough to draw blood, trying to keep herself from tearing up. It was too rough, too raw.

How long had she felt like this; how long had she lied to Bolin, to Kuvira, to herself? Letting go of those words felt like she was letting go of a breath she'd been holding for a very, very long time. She didn't think it was worth it, after all how much of that love was for who Kuvira had been as opposed to the Kuvira standing in front of her.

Worse yet, Opal knew she hadn't been in love with the Kuvira back in Zaofu. That had truly just been idle infatuation but this, this was something she couldn't ignore. She loved Kuvira, and she knew that she couldn't save her from herself. She had tried, but it was too late and she wasn't doing anything more than enabling Kuvira. If she truly loved her, she had to leave, no matter how much it pained her to do so.

_"Bullshit."_

Kuvira turned her back on Opal, her voice choked with hurt. For the moment, the Great Uniter looked so small, more vulnerable than Opal had ever been. She turned around, trying to compose her expression into something that suited her, something cruel. "Don’t waste your time wondering if we could have been happy," Kuvira said.

"I won’t," Opal replied, smiling tensely. "I already know the answer."

She could tell her words had dug into Kuvira as much as Kuvira's words had been intended to dig into her. With that, it was Opal's turn to vanish into the night, and Kuvira let her leave her. Opal hoped it would be the last time for either of them to hurt each other but there was less than two weeks left before Kuvira would reach Republic City. Opal couldn't do more than hope, for how ever little it was worth.


	31. Chapter Twenty-Nine

**171 AG**

Opal slammed her book shut, then immediately squeaked out a curse. She quickly combed through the novel and found her page, slid in a bookmark, then closed it again. The story she had been reading had suddenly gotten very intense and Opal needed a few hours to digest it. She put her book on her dresser and left it in her room.

After wandering dizzily for about twenty minutes around the estate, she came across her father's office. She and her father were the bookworms of the family and she knew that she could ramble about how stressful her novel had become to him. When she popped her head inside the door, careful not to cause a disturbance in case he was busy, she found that he wasn't there.

"What is it Opal?" her brother asked from the far said of the room. It was just him working in the office today; their father was probably taking a late lunch with their mother. Opal wandered into the office, and glanced around the place. Baatar hadn't looked up from his work, his question was more rhetorical than anything else. She didn't visit the studio that often since her brother and father were always very busy.

"I was looking for dad," she said honestly, approaching her brother.

"I suppose I'll do," Baatar said snidely, glancing up at Opal. His eyes softened when he looked at her, and he turned back to his work and allowed her to come closer.

His desk was uncharacteristically messy with quills, bottles of ink, pencils and stacks of paper. She noticed a sheet that was covered with so much math it made Opal dizzy just to look at it.  Baatar wasn't calculating anything at the moment, he was inking a pencil sketch with a careful hand. There were many ink drawings around him and Opal was surprised at how dedicated he was.

Her eyes wandered and came across a detailed drawing of something that seemed almost humanoid in design. Big and bulky, it looked like a gigantic mechasuit. "Whoa, what's that?" Opal asked. Baatar flushed and shuffled the sketches beneath other pieces of paper. There were multiple sketches, of big machines and small ones. She'd never known Baatar was interested in those kind of designs, she'd only ever seen him work on smaller machines and in architecture.

"It's nothing," he said brusquely. Opal grinned at him.

"It looked interesting," she argued, idly pulling at the papers.

"It's not practical," he replied, a little sternly. His voice softened. "It's just something I've been working on when I've had the time."

"What is it?" Opal asked, pulling up a stool. "Whatever it is, it looks look cool." Baatar was quiet for a moment, deliberating. Then he wandered over to his desk and pulled out a folder full of sketches. Opal eagerly wandered over to his side and sat in his chair as he laid the drawings out for her.

"They're mechasuits," he said, spreading his sketches out to display them properly. Opal ran her hands across the inked drawings, taking care not to smudge any pencil lines. They were incredibly detailed, even artistic. Huan was considered the artist of the family but Baatar's drafting skills and apparent passion for the subject of his drawings made them rather beautiful.

"Except far larger than the average mechasuit," he said. "It's difficult to create something that large that is also physically capable of walking." Opal turned her gaze to the equations Baatar had written in the margins, calculating what material he would need for this and that part of the suit, how thick it would have to be, how often it would need to be serviced.

"And these machines could walk?" Opal asked, noting that some of his designs placed the machines he'd drawn to be dozens of metres in height.

"Theoretically," he said. "And you wouldn't need more material than what it took to build the domes. There are still some kinks I would need to work out for the Colossus to actually be functional, but I'm very close."

"'The Colossus?'" Opal echoed. Baatar flushed and pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

"I had to call it something," he said.

"It's amazing," Opal said earnestly. "It looks kind of familiar, but also like nothing I've ever seen before."

"It would be unique," Baatar said with an air of admission. A smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. "It's similar to what the Sato family built in Republic City."

"For the Equalist rebellion," Opal noted, glancing up at her brother. Baatar's expression didn't change.

"Those machines were built to be as powerful as benders," he replied, beginning to shuffle up his drawings together and preparing to put them away again. "If not more powerful. But Zaofu was built for defence, not offense. There's no use for them here." He sounded defeated. It was true. Even though Baatar's machine would be amazing to behold, Zaofu certainly didn't need a gigantic mechasuit to protect it, or fight its battles.

All the same Opal could tell that Baatar wanted to create something grand and the fact that he was inspired by nonbenders in Republic City pulled at something in Opal. It was not easy being a nonbender in a world that only had praise for benders. Creating something large and grand such as the Colossus was a dream found in nearly every nonbender.

"Maybe you should talk to Kuvira about them," Opal said. "She's the captain, so she might be interested in them for the guards."

"Perhaps," Baatar replied, thoughtfully stacking the pages and putting them back in the drawer. Then, Baatar turned back to his other papers. Their father was remodelling the tram station and Baatar was helping. Opal got out of his chair and he shot her a quick smile, and then began to diligently work again.

She took a quick look at her brother. "See you at dinner," she said. He gave her a brief nod, and she pushed the door open and left. Her conversation with her brother had given her a break but she didn't feel like going back to her room; her thoughts were still busy in her head.

She decided to find her father again, while talking with her brother had helped refresh her mind she didn't feel like going back to her book just yet. The sun was crawling lower in the sky, the day was broaching evening and the clouds were dark purple from the impending sunset. Soon the domes would be raised over all their heads and it would be time for dinner.

Back when Kuvira had just been a regular guard it had been her job to work the pulleys to pull the domes into place. Even while Kuvira knew the weak spots of every domes, the majority of the structures were composed of unbendable platinum and thus they had to be closed by mechanical means. Kuvira didn't do the gruntwork anymore, she oversaw the closure. They hadn't talked about it yet, but Opal felt like Kuvira liked her new job.

When she reached her mother and father's joint office she peeked her head in. She only saw her mother, relaxing on one of the couches, reading Zaofu's official newspaper with her feet propped up on the table. When she noticed Opal she took her feet off the table with a hint of childish guilt. Opal almost laughed at her mother's expression and Suyin started smiling.

"Hey mom," Opal said. "Where's dad?"

"I wrangled him into eating lunch today," Suyin said. "Better late than never. He's headed back to his office now." Opal had been right, but they'd still missed each other. Her mother looked at Opal's considering silence and spoke up, teasing. "But I don't think you're too old to talk to your mother, are you?"

"I guess not," Opal grinned, walking over to Suyin and sitting next to her on the couch. Suyin pulled Opal into resting her head on her lap and put her feet up on the table again, next to the model of Zaofu.

"Anything in particular you wanted to ask him?" Suyin asked as she brushed her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"I wanted to complain about my book to him," Opal explained.

"That was a good idea," Suyin praised her. Suyin was many things, but not a devoted reader. Opal knew without a doubt that Suyin had started reading every book in Zaofu's public library, and had finished half of the books in their private library, but she rarely had the patience to complete books unlike her husband and daughter.

"Still, honey, you can complain about your book and I will listen," she promised. "Or we can talk about something else. I know a great deal."

Opal had no doubt that her mother would be able to play along with Opal's ramblings, but she was tempted by her mother's offer. Suyin _did_ know a great deal . . . she had seen so much, and accomplished so much. And it had been awhile since she and Opal had had a serious talk.

"Okay," Opal agreed. She considered what they could talk about. On a whim she asked, "Mom? What's love?"

She could hear her mother grin above her. "Why do you ask, anyone catch your interest?" she teased, carding her fingers through her daughter's hair. Opal pouted at her, letting her know how disappointed she was at her mother and Suyin threw her head back and laughed. "I guess my little girl is getting to that age."

"You were the one who tried to set me up with a bunch of boys last year," Opal complained.

"And you crept away with your books," Suyin replied. "Mind you, I was doing a lot of sneaking out when I was your age but not to read, _that's_ for sure." Opal felt like giving up if she wasn't going to get a straight answer but her mother's presence was soothing.

"Mom, was dad your first love?" she asked Suyin, unwilling to let her deviate from the conversation.

"No," Suyin said. "Nor was I his. We fell in love as we built Zaofu.

"I know, you told me this story," Opal said

"I like telling it," Suyin replied, continuing to run her fingers through Opal's hair. "He was the kind of person I would've ignored when I was younger. Did I ever tell you how I hired him?" Opal glanced up at her mother. "Oh well, it's a story worth re-telling." Opal grinned to herself and settled deeper into her mother's lap. Suyin didn't love reading but she had better stories than most of the books in the library.

"Well, mom had just gone missing so your Aunt Lin tracked me down. Your grandmother was assumed dead so Lin got her estates and I got her money. It wasn't until after Zaofu was built and Junior was already walking that she showed up again, alive and well," her mother explained. "But, at the time, Toph Beifong was officially dead. Neither Lin or I actually believed it, but there was nothing else we could do, legally speaking."

"So I suddenly had a lot of money and no direction. I could've lived my entire life wandering around, travelling the world, but I was thirty and already starting to get gray hairs. Don't tell your father, I kept it from him as long as I could," she added sternly. "I decided I wanted to settle down, to make something for myself so that my life was more than just a . . . waste."

"I went to Ba Sing Se and put up notice that I was looking for an architect. And they came, legions of earthbending architects with little rock models. Most of them made good cases for hiring them, they were all very talented. But," Suyin murmered, and her mouth curled in a smile on the last word. "Then this nonbender fellow came up to me with folders and folders of sketches, put them on the table since he had nowhere else to put them."

"And he fumbled around for awhile, and then I started fumbling on with him, and we started making plans. I bended little models, and he sketched, and we talked, and when it was time to say goodbye I told him he was hired and the next day we got an airship and I whisked him away to mom's old property."

"Republic City was founded by Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko even though it belonged to the Earth Kingdom prior to Fire Nation colonization. Similarly, your grandmother got a nice portion of property in the Southwestern Earth Kingdom which extends to the mountains surrounding our home and the swamp nearby."

"I knew that with my mother being presumed dead the Earth Queen would have loved to reclaim it so I quickly moved there. Lin didn't need or want the property; she sold it to me on the condition that we would no longer would speak to each other." Opal frowned. She could still it was still painful to Suyin that she still hadn't reconciled with her sister, but Suyin refused to linger on it.

"Anyhow, your father and I set about working immediately. I called some of my old friends, the people I'd come to know over the years and people I'd known back when I was a child being trained in metalbending, and we started piecing together Zaofu. Fortunately, the Earth Kingdom didn't take us seriously at the time, we barely took ourselves seriously, but we had fun and we started making something really good."

"Most of the older people in this city - except Aiwei, he came later - helped build it. Within two months we'd gathered most of the materials we needed and had plotted out the positioning for the first few domes. Every night Chef would create an amazing feast out of ingredients I, to this day, have no idea how he obtained. And we'd eat and we'd create and sleep and it was one of the best times of my life, your father's too."

"One day, after finishing building the dance hall, me and your father were feeling particularly celebratory even if we were just throwing money in the wind. So we sat down with a bottle of wine and well, we didn't have any glasses so we drank straight from the bottle," Suyin said, voice becoming soft.

Opal knew this part of the story very well. "Your father still can't handle his liquor and it only took him a glass to become embarrassingly drunk. He dozed off and on and I nursed my glass. Now that I look back on it, we were both so young." Opal smiled to herself.

"As he snored I watched the sunset and eventually he woke up, disoriented and apologetic. I remember that his glasses were all lopsided and he was still flush even though he'd been sleeping. I proposed to him right then and there," Suyin said serenely. "He said no of course but I insisted he think about it. I already knew that he liked me."

"But he didn't bring it up again," she went on, a little pout in her voice. "We built the main structures, and he said nothing. We built the first dome, and he still said nothing. We began working on the other two domes and I started to worry. As time went on I began to accept that the first good person I'd ever been interested in wasn't interested in return.

"We finished the final dome and families began to move in and well, I'd only commissioned him to design and help build three of the domes. And well I decided I was going to see him off. He'd packed his bags and was ready to go and I brought a bottle of wine for the road and he stood there, staring at the horizon and then he said . . . "

"'We need to build a train,'" Opal recited.

"Because we only got to Zaofu by airship," Suyin snickered. "We hadn't built any transportation to leave Zaofu just yet. I told him I'd send word and that an airship could pick him up in a few days . . ." she broke off, smiling. "But then your father grabbed my hand and told me, 'We need to build a train.'" Suyin sighed heavily to herself.

"And so we built a train," she said. "I got a metalbender training school up and running, your father continued working on perfecting our city, and we eventually had your brother. We got married and had you a little while after that. In retrospect, it could very well be that your father was my first love, my first real love."

"What do you mean?" Opal asked, voice small.

"When your father was sleeping off one glass of wine I realized that I was in love with him. I realized what love was. It's building something for each other," Suyin said. "Making a situation that lets you and the one you love to reach your fullest potential. To fight for someone's right to become the best person they can be, and have them do that in return. So he designed a beautiful city and I ruled it. Zaofu is the manifestation of my and your father's love."

Opal turned her face into her mother's side, her tears bleeding into the fabric of her mother's gown. It was silly, but it made Opal happy to hear this. Suyin's hand gently held Opal's shoulder as she spoke. "So I tried to make that a possibility for everyone of my citizens. I wanted to make a place where we all would protect each other and support each other, a place where we can all reach our fullest potential."

"Somewhere safe, with limitless possibilities, a city where love is the very backbone. A family." Suyin knew that her daughter wasn't ready to speak just yet so she went on. "I think I've done pretty well, considering what I set out to do. I hope Zaofu is a place where everyone feels safe and like they can accomplish whatever they want to do."

"Chef really found his place in Zaofu's kitchen and Aiwei found a position in a society that respects and utilizes his powers instead of shaming him for it. You father always has something new to add to our city, and I'm free to explore all my hobbies. Your brothers get better at sports and engineering every day it seems; you like to read and you have an entire library to take advantage of."

Opal nodded. Baatar's drawings that she'd seen that day made her think he longed for bigger things than even Zaofu, but as overbearing as Suyin sometimes could be Opal knew he'd eventually accomplish what he wanted to do. And so would Opal, once she figured out what it was. Beifongs were like that. But then, Suyin had spoken about Zaofu as being more than just the Beifongs.

"What about Kuvira?" Opal asked. "She . . . I know she doesn't have any family."

"Hmm? Ah yes," Suyin said. "Kuvira was an orphan when I took her into Zaofu. She arrived at our domes, exhausted and starving. The lengths she had to go to get to this city . . . just reminds me how important Zaofu really is for so many people. My mother, of course, was younger when she ran away from home and was just a little older than Kuvira when she travelled the world with the Avatar, and I was already trying to find my independence at age fourteen but still . . . at that age no one should be alone."

"So we found her a family in Zaofu, an overarching structure that would take care of Kuvira. I kept my eye on her best I could, offered her opportunities to join in to activities she seemed interested in. I . . . saw a lot of myself in her. Someone who stood on a very precarious edge in their young life, someone who could either succeed immensely or fail spectacularly."

"I succeeded, fortunately. But I always wondered how my life would've been if I had grown up in a system like Zaofu. We're a community, not like Republic City. You have no idea, Opal. It's a beautiful city, and inhumane. No one cares, and everyone distrusts each other. Zaofu is the most secure place on the world and it's built on trust. I know the Earth Queen would criticize how I run my city but nobody goes hungry in Zaofu. No one is forgotten."

Suyin's fingers had clenched around the fabric of her gown. "I was an angry child. I made mistakes. I thought my mother didn't care about me because she gave me no structure, no order, she let me make my own mistakes which led me down a path of destruction. I hurt myself, I hurt my sister, and I could've very easily ended up dead in the streets of Republic City and the only one who would've mourned me would've been Lin. That's how I felt. I nearly did die once or twice."

"But I found the resolve to do better. It took me a long time, but I built this beautiful place, created this beautiful family, and I finally made amends with my mother and one day I'll get Lin to forgive me too. It took me so long to get here, and I always wondered . . . if living somewhere like here would've cut down on the time it took me selfishly lashing out on those I loved and abandoning them . . ."

"When I saw Kuvira, a scared, angry, lonely child, I really did see the person I was all those years ago. I don't know if Zaofu is the perfect system," Suyin picked up her words again, voice soft. "But Kuvira is a beautiful dancer, an amazing guard and now she's an excellent captain. And no one had to be hurt for her to uncover her potential. We don't need to hurt to grow. "

"Do you think she's done growing?" Opal asked.

Suyin chuckled. "Oh, I hope not," she said. "I expect great things from her, as I do from every child of Zaofu. But you asked about Kuvira and I think she really is . . . living proof that what I've made with your father _works_ , that all I tried to do with this city can work. By letting her into Zaofu I let her have a better life, and now she's making my city a better place by being its captain."

Opal didn't miss the pride in Suyin's voice. "What about outside Zaofu?" she asked her mother.

"Well," Suyin said, stroking Opal's hair. "Zaofu is my city. I can't force my ideals on others. If they want to come, and Aiwei supports them of course, then I let people in. But we do live in a very precarious state, even now. I know that people are still lost and starving in Republic City, that the Earth Queen is a monster that's outlived her usefulness. I can't afford to think about those people, as terrible as it sounds. I need to protect the one thing I know does work. Zaofu. My family. You."

Opal felt like one day she would leave too, but she stayed silent, enjoying the gentleness of her mother's touch on her forehead. "Did I answer your question, Opal?" Suyin asked. Opal nodded and Suyin let her rest until it was time for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: alcohol, food mention  
> Other notes: I felt like it was time for a flashback to put things into perspective. Sorry for all the heterosexuality, but we all know Suyin's polyamorous and has tons of lady lovers so don't worry about it.


	32. Chapter Thirty

**174 AG**

Opal was aimless. After leaving Kuvira she found herself heading north-west, the wind carrying her back to Republic City. She moved with a sense of purpose she'd forgotten, having let it get lost in the mess of her emotions. She felt good now, clean and strong. Leaving Kuvira, she'd managed to find the way she used to feel back in Zaofu; the unshakable righteousness felt good to Opal.

In the back of her mind, Opal worried about that attitude. She'd been naive when she'd felt like this, unaccomplished but fiercely dedicated to ideals she'd had little chance to demonstrate. Kuvira had been just as fierce and in the end Opal hadn't been able to make her see her mistakes. Opal would have wondered if she wasn't seeing anything as well, but it felt too good to be righteous once more, to have a goal again.

She landed in Republic City, finding the place bustling with energy. The war wasn't quite real enough to depress people, but real enough to make them move faster, with a sense of panic. When Opal had returned to Zaofu she had gone immediately to her home and found the place heavy with anxiety. This was a different, airier type of fear. Opal didn't know which she preferred.

Kuvira had threatened two weeks and the people here lived under that threat, tentative with the kind of hope that it was a joke. It seemed that some people were already evacuating their homes, those with bags in their hands that homes in the country or family they assumed would still be there to welcome them and house them until this all blew over.

Others dealt with it differently. The streets, despite their business, had thinned out. Opal assumed that most people had retreated into their homes, seeking comfort with family, books, distractions, as had been the case in Zaofu. Since most shops were closed there was a misleading amount of people in the streets. Opal knew that most people were either leaving or staying in their homes.

There people who went out, seeking others, friends and strangers, gathered around the bustling recreation districts in clusters, colourful and loud. They gave the illusion of normality, though they were much tenser than they otherwise would be. Opal knew they were a minority and were simply more visible than those who were likely waiting and hiding in their homes. Being out and about wasn't an intrinsically better way of coping, but those people who were outside in the city speaking to one another allowed Opal to slip into the scene unnoticed, as few and far between as they were.

Opal was uncertain of where she should go, to Air Temple Island or to her aunt's place. Lin would be pissed, no doubt, at Opal leaving. She wondered where her family was staying. Her aunt's apartment definitely couldn't hold all the Beifongs. She let her options rest in the air as she walked down the streets of Republic City.

This city was beautiful in a way unlike Zaofu. It was beautiful in a way that Opal could never live in. She could see the appeal for her aunt, who had a sort of organized messiness and was passionate with a heart that beat in time with the city. Opal heard the sounds, smelled the scents as she passed by them, and they overwhelmed her. Republic City was too loud for someone who grew up under protective platinum domes.

She did like it though, from a distance, from a traveler's eyes. There was something kind of sweet in walking past people she didn't know, strangers with busy lives and open expressions. Most vendors had closed up shop but the smell of food from stalls still open made Opal's stomach grumble and Opal realized she didn't have money. It put a dent in her self-reflection.

Opal also didn't really know what part of the city she was in relative to her aunt's apartment. Her aunt lived very close to the station so Opal asked a passerby where that was. They pointed to the distance and Opal nodded and thanked them. She was turning to walk towards her destination when she suddenly heard a sound that was achingly familiar amongst the bustling noise of Republic City.

"Opal!" a voice yelled. She turned around and spotted him and she gasped out loud. She started running towards him and when they threw their arms around each other Opal got her breath knocked out a little.

_"Kai,"_ she said, as he pulled her against his chest and dug his chin into her shoulder. "Did you get taller?" she asked faintly, hugging him in return. It felt like years had passed between seeing him.

"Where were you?" he asked, and she could feel dampness against her neck. He was crying. She bit her lip.

"I was fine," she said, gripping the back of his uniform. "I was safe. I'm sorry I made you worry. I should've told you where I'd gone."

"You made everyone worry!" he said miserably. She smiled at him. She hadn't been gone that long, and she was sure Bolin had told everyone who needed to know that she was safe, but he probably wouldn't have told Kai and Kai wouldn't have known to ask.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"Stop apologizing," he sniffled, letting go of her and wiping his eyes. "Come on. Let's get something to eat." She smiled at him and let him pull her along the streets he knew only slightly better than she did.

Kai and Opal settled at a table in a restaurant called Narook's Seaweed Noodlery. Kai had apparently taken a liking to Water Tribe cuisine when he'd accompanied Jinora on her visit to Korra. Opal personally had never tried it but it smelled good and Opal was quite hungry. Kai ordered two bowls of noodles for them and swore to Opal that she would love them.

As the restaurant owner and chef, Narook, took their orders Opal noted that she and Kai were the only two people there. It was a lovely-looking eatery, but almost completely empty. She realized the owner was probably the only person in the kitchen. As she and Kai waited for him to finish preparing their meals she turned her gaze on her friend.

"What are you doing in Republic City?" she asked him. "Last time I came here I didn't see you." She looked down. "Then again, I didn't stay long." Kai nodded.

"After we split up, I came here right away," he said. "I told them about Kuvira putting people into camps. It didn't help much. They already knew by the time I got there."

"Did they help them at all?" she asked. Kai shook his head.

"And that's probably why we have to fight a giant mechasuit right now," he replied. "That's why Kuvira was making those camps full of non-earth benders, to mine and to make tools for that - thing." Opal frowned. She should've known better, she'd been so self-absorbed. She had been completely focused on her own family that she'd forgotten how everyone had continued to suffer in those camps.

"Wait," she said, suddenly realizing his words. "Giant . . . mechasuit?" Kai nodded seriously.

"You didn't hear?" he asked. "Kuvira made a gigantic metal machine that walks and shoots spirit beams."

"The spirit cannon," Opal murmured. Kai nodded. "What are people still doing here?" she asked.

"Well, everyone's pretty much gone," he said. "A few people have stuck around, like old Narook here." The old man in the kitchen making their noodles turned a skeptical gaze on Kai from the doorway.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," he murmured. "Just giving the shop a good last night before the war. Only a few days until the Great Uniter comes to unite _us_ as well."

"Wait," Opal said, gripping Kai's hand. "Days? I thought we had weeks before Kuvira attacked."

"This morning Korra went flying and she saw Kuvira in the mechasuit," Kai said. "And she aimed at Korra and tried to shoot her with the spirit beam." He shrugged. "Yeah, she's only a few days away, if that. She could be here tomorrow, or even tonight."

Opal didn't know what to say. With all the time she'd been with Kuvira she'd never been given any indication that she'd been building anything like that. Was the mechasuit what Kuvira had been so eager to get back to? Opal couldn't believe it. In the days Opal had been travelling back to Republic City Kuvira had gone back to wherever she'd been storing her weapon and was now, what, marching it back?

Kai cleared his throat. "After that, I went back to the Northern Air Temple, waited for Lefty and took care of the rest of the bison. I figured you would end up in Republic City eventually so I sent Juicy to Air Temple Island with Hema and Kajri and they stuck around helping out."

Opal nodded. That would explain why Juicy was staying in Republic City when she arrived. Kai had been thinking about her. The two bowls were placed in front of them and Opal broke her chopsticks, beginning to eat. The danger was more imminent than she'd been expecting and Kuvira had lied to her face, as was their custom.

But then, Opal had never asked Kuvira what she was doing, what her plans were. There were moments, especially the last night together, where Opal felt now that she could have. It was too late for that now. Her feelings were getting muddled again but Opal felt like maybe they were supposed to be. Perhaps she had to get more comfortable with being uncomfortable.

"You don't have to tell me where you've been," Kai spoke up as he dug around in his noodles. "Just promise me you won't leave again where we won't know where to help you."

"I was fine," she reminded him. "I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't have to!" Kai said, sounding very distressed. He looked away from her. He wasn't eating. "I'm sorry. I didn't know if you were dead or captured or what."

"I wasn't any of those things," Opal said, putting down her chopsticks. She really did feel bad. She'd told Bolin where she was going, but she hadn't told anyone where, much less why. Even if she'd told Kai everything she'd told her family he still would've worried and it was over something that was pure selfishness on her part. "I was just figuring some things out."

Kai cursed. "This has something to do with Kuvira, right?" he asked in a dull voice.

She was surprised, but then, Kai's intuition and observation skills were what had kept him alive for so many years while he lived on the streets of the Earth Kingdom. "I left her," Opal promised him.

"You were with her?" Kai asked, looking at her with an expression that was both confused and disgusted. Opal turned away from him but she didn't feel ashamed anymore.

"Yes," she said honestly.

Kai winced. "Alright," he said. "Okay. Did you . . ." he broke off, trying to find the words. "Did you finally figure out what happened between you guys in Zaofu?"

"I," Opal said. "Nothing happened between us in Zaofu. Something happened now. I could tell you about it but I don't think you want to hear it. I don't think I'm ready to talk about it anyway."

"Do you regret it?" Kai asked, setting down his utensils to stare at her. "Whatever it was?"

"I might," she said carefully. "But not for the reason you'd think I would. It's too soon to tell. Besides. We have bigger problems to worry about then my relationship with Kuvira." She tried to play it off but Kai was having none of it.

"I worry about your relationship with Kuvira," he argued.

"You always worry," Opal snorted, nudging him. She added, softer, "You always act so carefree but you care more than anyone I've ever met." Kai looked guilty in a way she didn't understand. She shovelled thick, green Water Tribe noodles into her mouth as she waited for him to respond.

"Okay," Kai spoke up after a pause. "You don't want to talk about it right now. You just got back, we have to fight her soon . . . Fair enough." It wasn't fair, and she knew that. She hadn't thought about Kai and the other airbenders when she'd gone after Kuvira.

Even back then when she hadn't wanted Kuvira and had dropped from the skies to attack her, she'd been so focused on avenging her family that she'd allowed herself to be swept up by her feelings for the woman. Opal had forgotten again that people cared about her, and that she'd made them suffer. She was just beginning to learn how not to be selfish.

She stirred her noodles idly, pinching some between her chopsticks and allowing them to cool. "I nearly killed her once," she said. Kai tensed and she pretended she didn't notice. She owed him, and herself, honesty and in this matter she wasn't going to back down.

"I don't know whether I should be angry or relieved," he said after a moment of silence.

"You can be both," she said. She began eating her noodles in earnest. She was worried about what Kai would think about her, she didn't want him to hate her, but she had faith that he wouldn't look down on her. She wasn't afraid of losing him, she was afraid of disappointing him. She shoved noodles into her mouth until her throat burned.

"I'm just glad you're here now," he said, voice thick and high-pitched. She stopped eating. "No matter how long it took."

"Yeah," she said, pausing to smile softly. "I am too." They turned to their respective bowls and ate quietly, listening to the thinning out noise of Zaofu as people left, and the man who owned the restaurant cleaned up the other tables with care. They were two outgoing people, talented at silence.

Oddly enough, it was still easier to confess to nearly killing Kuvira then it was to confess to kissing her. People could be very biased outside of Zaofu, but no one Opal was friends with was like that. Kai wasn't like that. She glanced up at him. His entire body was tense. She felt like telling him anymore at that moment would do more harm than good. It was time to move off of herself and focus on other people.

"Where are you staying?" Opal asked after they finished their meals and paid, walking aimlessly.

"I'm sleeping in one of the guest rooms at Air Temple Island," Kai said, head snapping up to look at her. He was jumpy. "Jinora kind of insisted. Everyone else is staying at hotels and stuff. No one's really collecting payment or rent so we're all coming back to the city and getting ready for Kuvira to attack."

Opal nodded. She could see it; even while the majority of civilians went about their daily business, people were preparing for the inevitable attack. "I guess I'm going to stay at Aunt Lin's house," she said, though he hadn't asked. "Want me to walk you back?"

"Sure," Kai said. She smiled at him and they paid and exited the restaurant. The streets were emptying out now, another batch of people leaving the city. She learned that the evacuation was mandatory and soon the streets they walked down were completely devoid of anyone but them, two airbenders walking silently along with only a gentle breeze accompanying them.

Learning about the mechasuit was terrifying, that Kuvira wielded that level of power and had given Opal no indication of it was . . . true to their history but had horrifying implications. If she truly had built a gigantic mechasuit, and was marching it to Republic City, then most likely this entire city would be destroyed. It was why Narook had behaved so bizarrely, cleaning up his restaurant so lovingly. Opal and Kai had probably eaten the last meal the Noodlery would ever make.

"Did you know?" Kai suddenly spoke up, distracting her from her thoughts.

"Know about what?" she asked him.

"The mechasuit," he blurted out. His eyes were darting around, not looking at her. His hands were clenched in fists at his side.

"No," she said regretfully. "She never told me. I never asked. I couldn't have guessed that it was a question I should ask. I thought she just had the cannon. I thought it was enough." It should have been enough in all honesty. Korra had apparently cut the rail lines, so having a walking weapon was certainly helpful, but there was no way Kuvira could have predicted that. She planned on brutalizing Republic City.

Kai stumbled then and she grabbed his arm to steady him. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Opal, I don't know what I'm going to do," Kai breathed, a look of wild panic gripping him. She glanced down at him and found that he looked faint.  "I'm only, I'm only fifteen years old? I can't die tomorrow, I can't let Jinora die tomorrow . . ."

"Kai, Kai," Opal coaxed, fighting back her own panic at seeing the usually carefree airbender overcome with fear, reaching out to hold his trembling hands. "It's okay." Tears glinted in his eyes.

"No," he said, voice becoming high with terror and defeat. "It's not."

When she pulled Kai into a hug, leaned against the building behind them and allowed herself to sink to the ground holding him, she realized how foreign this was to her. She'd thought she'd known everything, but she was just beginning to understand the world, herself, and her place in it all. Unsteady but important work. He was so scared in her arms.

Opal let Kai cry against her, holding him tightly to her chest. She wanted to honestly tell him that it was going to be okay, that he and Jinora and even Opal would survive all of this - like she'd told Kuvira though those words born more in spite than in actual belief - but she knew she couldn't. What she could do was hold onto Kai and let him let go of her when he was ready.

She promised herself, tentatively broaching the honesty she'd been avoiding so long because it made her feel uncomfortable, unsteady, and lost, that she'd give her all to protect him. She'd spent enough of her life feeling being protected and coddled, she finally had the strength and wisdom to be more than that, though she had realized it perhaps too late. She'd do better.

Kai was far too young to be a soldier, to risk his life. They called themselves Nomads, and no one would protest if Kai backed out, Jinora wouldn't look down on him, and Kai despite his tears wanted this. He wanted to stop Kuvira. He was still a child though, as easy as it was to forget. They were, all of them, children. She sat with Kai against the wall of a building that would be broken in a few days time until the last sob shook his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: food


	33. Chapter Thirty-One

**174 AG**

Opal had spent the night in Lin's bedroom. The police chief had been busy making plans to save the city so Opal had had the entire apartment to herself. She'd gone to bed early and when morning finally arrived Wing and Wei came knocking at the door. They dragged her to Asami Sato's factory where everyone was waiting for the war to begin in earnest.

The majority of the citizens of Republic City had been evacuated, and plans were made to lead the remaining people outside safely, but Opal and her brothers had nothing to do. There was nothing they could say to each other. When Kai had said "tomorrow", when he had panicked and wept over Kuvira's impending arrival, he had been frightened and exaggerated . . . but it hadn't been unrealistic.

Kuvira's mechasuit and the rest of her soldiers began to arrive outside of Republic City. Opal couldn't help but think about Zaofu, about how Kuvira was cornering them in again. But this time they wouldn't lose and Opal wouldn't leave. It was going to be different, she could feel it in her bones. She stood at her brothers' side and waited.

Korra led a mission with some of the Air Nomads, including Kai, to kidnap Opal's brother. An hour passed and Baatar sat in Asami's factory, tied to a chair seething and choking on his own smugness, as the Avatar snarled toothless threats at him. Korra didn't seem like she believed her own words, no matter how intimidating she became. She lifted Baatar into the air and he merely laughed it away. Korra was merely bluffing and Baatar recognized it without trouble. Opal couldn't help but feel angry at him, angry that he knew what Kuvira was doing was wrong and yet he still stood with her.

Korra moved aside, and Opal watched her mother try to talk Baatar down. She recognized Kuvira's words in Baatar, that all they wanted a united empire, that it wouldn't cost any lives if people just surrendered. He hadn't internalized the damage he and Kuvira were causing, that if people were willing to sacrifice their lives to fight against them that they were clearly in the wrong. Or perhaps he simply didn't care about the suffering, perhaps he thought his cause, whatever it was, was more important than that.

If anything came out of that conversation it was that his family finally had a greater understanding of why Baatar had left in the first place. He hadn't left to better the world, in Opal's opinion. He'd left to escape the shadow of 'Junior', to try to find himself. Opal gritted her teeth. His self-exploration had a body count and she wasn't about to forgive him for that. It was difficult, she realized. It was difficult for Opal to love people who did bad things.

It was uncomfortable and painful and full of rage she hadn't dealt with. She always ended up feeling personally betrayed for people she loved being less than perfect. She tried to calm herself, she didn't know how much of her anger was directed at him and how much of it was directed at Kuvira. All she knew was that Baatar was unrepentant for the camps, for the murders, for everything.

And then her mother did something Opal didn't expect. Suyin apologized. Opal couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her mother cry. Suyin reached out, regretful, putting away the anger and hurt she'd been carrying with her for the past three years. She didn't know why she'd hurt Baatar, she admitted as much, but she still placed herself in that helpless position. Suyin set aside all of her fury and betrayal and for the first time Opal had seen her do so, she apologized.

Baatar rejected it and Opal could understand why even though it hurt. Suyin still had to do a lot of thinking about why Baatar had felt the need to leave, but it still didn't mean that Baatar could be absolved of his responsibility in all this. Suyin wanted him to come home, to magically put it all behind them, but that wasn't possible and everyone felt it.

Baatar had called Kuvira family. Whether that was to hurt Suyin or something he genuinely felt it gave Korra an idea. Looking at the pain Suyin was in when her family was broken, and at Baatar's motivations, Korra promised to keep Baatar away from Kuvira forever if Kuvira took the city. It worked. The look of momentary dismay on Baatar's face shocked Opal. Did he really love Kuvira that much? To the extent that being apart from hurt so much that it was the only thing that could make him back down? Opal glanced up and looked at the radio, wondering if the feeling could possibly be mutual.

As they waited for Kuvira's response Opal stood next to Wing and Wei, tense at her side. Opal said nothing, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor. If Baatar truly looked at Kuvira like family, his only family, then this probably felt cruel to him. On the other hand, Baatar and Kuvira would gladly massacre hundreds of people to accomplish their goals. But in a way, Opal had to admire Korra. She'd all but told Korra to kill in the past, her angry and confused feelings towards Kuvira encouraging her to insist that Korra had to end the problem immediately, violently.

Korra was more than that, though. Korra wasn't some kind of mover hero where the good guy could fight all day and not get tainted and tired by it. Korra had suffered and healed for three years and Opal had completely ignored that when Korra had come back. In those moments, when Opal was left with her anger and betrayal, she'd just wanted Korra to end Kuvira. But while Korra's previous battles had ended bloodily, Opal could see something had changed in the woman, something had settled in that was not going to leave.

It had nothing to do with weakness, the way Korra crossed her arms and waited for Kuvira to get on the line with Baatar. Korra could pick Baatar into the air and threaten him with the Avatar State, but she didn't want to. Korra, the Avatar, didn't want this to end with violence. If it had _ever_ been Korra's desire to end things with death and destruction, it no longer was. Korra knew what she was doing and Opal felt it. She felt how unafraid Korra was. The Avatar was not going to get scared or pressured into doing something she didn't want to do, but Opal didn't know what the alternative was. Opal was scared.

She was left with her own thoughts as they waited for communication between Kuvira and Baatar to begin. Opal glanced over at her brother, sitting tensely in the chair. She was having trouble balancing her love for Baatar and her hatred for his actions. She knew it was a skill that she would have to develop because she could see the consequences for not playing out right in front of her. Baatar saw only the goodness in Kuvira, only the love he felt for her and the familial love and acceptance she offered him.

Her mother, on the other hand, had all but disowned and exiled him and her protégé when they left, rejected in her eyes, the home she'd built in Zaofu. Sure, Suyin had kneeled and apologized and Opal could see the pain tearing at her mother's heart, but it had been too little too late. Opal couldn't make those mistakes, she couldn't let it be too late for herself. It was still difficult and she didn't know whether to run and hug Baatar and prove to him that he did have a family with them, or treat him like the murderer that he was. Opal somehow knew that neither of them was the correct thing to do, so she held onto herself and watched.

Kuvira eventually radioed them. The first thing she asked was if Baatar was injured and Opal saw her brother's face soften, relieved. The next question, revolving around Korra's presence, set Opal on edge but Baatar took no notice. He told Kuvira of Korra's plans, about how Korra would make sure he would never see Kuvira again unless she left Republic City alone and how he refused to live that way. He wanted them to get married, he said in a way that was not quite begging or even requesting, Opal couldn't explain it.

To Opal's surprise, Kuvira agreed. And she said that she loved him. It didn't sound like a lie. Even though Opal didn't believe Kuvira was in love with him, the tremble in her voice made Opal feel like she cared for him. Not to the extent that he cared for her, as the familiar purple beam lighting up Republic city's sky confirmed. She may have loved him but now Baatar joined Opal as being just another betrayer.

Asami's entire factory was destroyed, and ironically the one who bore the worst brunt of the damage was Baatar. He was knocked unconscious and carried out of the building by his mother and Bumi. Fortunately everyone had survived the attack, and they stood outside the broken building, thanks to Bolin holding it up with his bending until everyone was safely outside.

Kuvira had been willing to kill her fiancée and mentor and whoever Opal was to her. All this meant was that Kuvira had nothing else to bring her back, not that Baatar or Suyin, or even Opal, had really tried.  She was willing to go through all lengths to kill the Avatar, and by extension anyone else that would stand in the way of her goal. Now her goal was Republic City, and Korra was just unwilling to let the city be torn from her as Kuvira was to conquer it.

Everything was coming to a head. Opal had spent most of the past few weeks thinking about herself and her relationship with Kuvira, but a war was waging, people were being killed and displaced. If Opal had ever truly tried to stop Kuvira, she'd screwed it up. Now Kuvira's fate was in Korra's hands and the last time the two had fought each other one of them had nearly been killed.

Every single person that had situated themselves against Korra had died or ended up in prison. It wasn't because Korra was a brutal Avatar, far from it. Opal could see that while Korra was sometimes hotheaded, she was compassionate and willing to sacrifice herself for her friends. Her reluctance to fight Kuvira back in Zaofu had nothing to do with her fear of losing, but her unwillingness to resort to violence.

Korra was someone so strong and brave and so willing to sacrifice herself that her enemies had to be prepared to sacrifice themselves too. And they did. And Opal could tell that it wore on Korra, that she hated it. But Opal knew that Kuvira wouldn't stop, and she wouldn't blame Korra if the Water Tribe girl finally chose to take someone's life, but she didn't want that, no one did.

Kuvira had told Opal once that the future was going to be like nothing she'd ever dealt with before. She'd probably anticipated it turning out differently, but it didn't matter - it was still true. As the Avatar's allies prepared for fighting Kuvira Opal took the last few moments to consider the woman she was aligning herself against.

She could no longer idolize Kuvira, but demonizing her was too tempting. She'd felt like everything was extremes with Kuvira; she loved her and hated her, wanted to hurt her and help her, would give anything to be by her side and even more to stop her from going down the road she was going. All of those feelings were painful, and none of them helped Opal _or_ Kuvira.

When this was all over, because it _would_ end one way or another, Opal had to finally be honest with herself and Kuvira. There had to be a reason why Kuvira was willing to go so far and risk so much to claim just one city. But for now Opal had to protect the people she could help. As everyone talked around her, making plans, Opal looked to the horizon and at the gigantic mechasuit that towered over the skyscrapers of Republic City. Somewhere deep inside that metal monster was Kuvira. Opal wondered if the Avatar would succeed in finding her or do what Opal had asked her to do so many times back in Zaofu. Kill Kuvira.


	34. Chapter Thirty-Two

**174 AG**

Opal was out of the fight almost immediately, knocked out of the sky from debris caused by Kuvira's spirit beam slicing through an entire building. In Kuvira's attempt to kill Korra, who had been situated on top of the building most of the nomads had been standing on, every bystander had gotten thrown out of the way as the hot blaze tore the building apart.

Opal had kept by her promise to protect Kai. She stood by his side on the slippery, green overhang on the building the airbenders stood on as they gathered their powers together, sending a powerful blast at Kuvira's mechasuit. When Kuvira responded, shooting them with their spirit beam, Opal jumped after Kai. She kept her eyes on him, making sure he was out of the beam's heat, unwittingly landing herself almost directly in the path of the corrosive ray.

Face hot and ears ringing, Kai's safety was her consolation. She felt like her entire body was baked by the sun and fried with electricity. Kai was safe though and she was alive with no regrets. She distantly felt familiar hands cradle her head. Her eyes blearily fell on Kuvira's gigantic mecha, towering over them, detached and lethal. Opal's skin still felt somehow singed from the beam, feeling the heat more than she did the wounds and bruises that were making their marks across her body.

Opal let Bolin carry her away; she couldn't move or feel and found her eyes shutting themselves. Bolin hefted her weight in his arms, chased away by Kuvira's weapon. He urged her awake since she'd hit her head, and she tried to keep her eyes open since it was the least she could do. She'd hurt him so badly and he still fearlessly cared for her.

He set her down in Asami's office with the rest of the wounded. She distantly noted it as being the same room as the one they'd placed Baatar earlier, but there were more injured now. Bolin ran out of the room before coming back with an armful of cushions, forcing Opal to sit up on the stretcher and lean on them.

"Don't fall asleep," he said sternly. He was heading back out now. She didn't feel as though she was being babied, it was his way of showing he cared so she would do the best to reciprocate in her own way.

"Stay safe," she said, trying to keep her voice from choking up. He grinned crookedly, childish in a way Opal knew wasn't childish.

"Goodbye, Opal," he said, giving her a quick hug, careful of her injuries. He left, racing out the door, without a second glance. Opal was beginning to realize how she'd looked down on him in the past, but he was more mature and brave than she ever had been. His reassuring grin had made her trust that they'd be able to stop Kuvira, and when they did Opal was finally going to grow up.

For now, she'd have to stay, bed-ridden, and wait for the sounds of war outside the building they were hiding in to cease. Opal sighed out loud, listening to the groans of the fellow wounded. She wanted to go out, help somehow, but she didn't know how much she would be able to even if she wasn't wounded. She knew now that there was wisdom in knowing when to stop.

When she woke up the room was warm and wet. She hadn't planned on sleeping but her body had made a decision without consulting her mind. The sun was setting and a raging headache was sinking in, but despite all that her body did feel a little recovered. She heard thunder that she knew wasn't thunder in the distance outside the factory. The war wasn't over.

She turned around, a little more mobile now, and pulled away the curtain behind her.  She tried to get out of the bed but found herself still unable to do so. She frowned, she was close enough to the window. She lifted it open, exerting whatever was left of her energy, but it was worth it to feel the cool air hitting the back of her neck.

"Hello, Opal," a familiar voice spoke up from next to her. She turned her head, surprised, then she smiled a little sadly. Looking around the warmly lit room, growing humid with everyone's breath, her eyes fell on her brother.

"Baatar," she said, voice sounding lighter than she'd expected it to be. Baatar's face softened, then he turned away and looked to the ceiling. He was still laying on the same stretcher he'd been placed on, unconscious, hours ago. Most of the people in that building had been shielded by earthbenders, Opal by her brothers, Asami by Korra. Baatar had suffered the worst under Kuvira's first blow against the city.

"Mother has forgiven me," he said, stating a fact but his voice sounded pained. Opal hadn't known. Their conversation must have transpired between Baatar's awakening and Opal's sleep. She believed him. For Suyin, forgiveness was about ceasing to think about what wrongs had occurred, and Baatar's mistakes were much easier to forget then Kuvira's. They were smaller, almost small enough to ignore completely.

"But whatever Kuvira's punishment will be, I was just as culpable for the destruction she caused, and is causing. I have to be punished just like her." He was assuming that Korra would defeat her. It surprised Opal, he had been so confident in Kuvira when she'd last seen him. She didn't know if the statement was born from bitterness or if he knew something about Kuvira that they didn't.

"Mom just doesn't want to exile you," Opal said quietly. "She wants you to come home. You know that." It was strange . . . in the years between Opal leaving to train as an airbender and now, she and Baatar had never had a chance to talk. They hadn't talked much before that either and it showed in the way they spoke to each other. Their conversation grated; it hurt.

"She didn't want any of this," Baatar agreed. "But it's not fair that she wants my redemption, and not . . . " he broke off. "Neither of us deserve forgiveness, is what I mean to say." Opal hated seeing him the way he looked now. He'd grown up from the weedy twenty-year-old Opal was familiar with, had become thick with muscle and had found some annoying, sneering confidence. Now he was just broken; weaker than Opal had ever seen him and he knew it and she knew he hated it.

"Were you there?" he asked. "When Korra threatened me." Opal nodded.

"You really loved her, huh?" she asked. Korra's threat never would have worked on Opal. Baatar's face became pinched with pain.

"I thought," he said. Opal saw his fingers clench around his bed sheets so tightly his knuckles paled. "I mattered to her."

"I think you mattered to her," Opal offered.

"Not enough," he said, and she couldn't tell if he was anguished or furious. In the next moment he was just tired. "I thought I was enough to give her what she needed. She told me that she wanted to marry me and my relationship with her . . . either she never lied to me or she was lying to me the entire time." He knew Kuvira better than she did, so Opal couldn't prod him in either direction.

She didn't speak and neither did he. They listened to the whimpers of the rest of the injured lying safely inside the Sato Estate, and to the battle waging outside in the streets of Republic City, at the thunderous boom of shredding buildings. Had Korra not kidnapped Baatar from his post, he would likely be at Kuvira's side now. Opal had left Kuvira with completely different reasons than her brother had, but she was just beginning to understand why either of them had stood by her at all.

She turned to him to ask, "Why did you follow her Baatar? Why did you leave Zaofu and go with her?"

He frowned. "I wanted to make a difference in the world," he replied. "I wanted to do something that mattered, not just make minor modifications on my father's machines and buildings. Kuvira saw that I could accomplish more, and offered me an opportunity."

Opal nodded to herself. Kuvira had done the same for her when she taught her how to dance all those years ago. "I assume it wasn't always the way it is now," she said.

"No," Baatar agreed. "At first, we really were helping the world. Ba Sing Se was beyond impossible to stabilize, but Kuvira was - is - an excellent strategist. She saw that people, even the looters and rioters, craved stability. We set up a station there, imported and traded food, gained allies. We fought off bandits when we needed to, put out fires when we had to. We helped the little people, listened to the unheard, fed the hungry, and clothed the cold."

"Eventually some of the locals joined our cause, which was the beginning of Kuvira's army," he explained. "She gave them what they needed - order, predictability . . . peace. This was back when we were still doing good things. Nowadays most of our army are people who bought into the propaganda we spread, who ignored or justified the bad things we did."

"But back then, before we set up re-education camps, before we started imprisoning dissenters and segregating people of non-Earth Nation origin . . . people believed in us, for however brief a time. She told them they could survive without a monarchy . . . this was, of course, when Wu was still too young to have any claim to the throne. She thought they could stand without the Kingdom's interference, after all it was the monarchy that separated her from her parents."

"What?" Opal asked, sitting up.

"I guess I can tell you. There was a program," Baatar explained. "In the Earth Kingdom it's still more likely to find a firebender or even a waterbender than a metalbender. Kuvira was a gifted child that didn't require training to be able to bend metal, so her parents sent her into that program to serve the Queen. As it turned out, that program was very similar to the airbender army program you might be more familiar with."

Opal nodded with growing horror. "How old was she?"

"Seven years old, I believe," Baatar said. "The program was created so that if need be, the Queen would be able to battle Zaofu on more equal terms. The queen's definition of equality, of course. For a year, or possibly more, Kuvira was trained to be a soldier, punished severely for not meeting the standards they set for her - a child. One day Kuvira managed to escape and she ran to her parents."

Opal didn't speak, her throat was swollen with anticipation. She let Baatar go on. "Her parents, she told me she believes, didn't know about the conditions. They wanted to send her back, her escape was a disgrace to them. Regardless of their ignorance, you can imagine what that felt like. So Kuvira ran the only other place she'd heard of. Zaofu."

"Mother, as you know, hates taking in outsiders she doesn't personally know," Baatar said. "As much as she loves to talk about second chances, those chances are usually reserved for people she likes and not those she doesn't. According to Aiwei, Suyin thought Kuvira might be a spy for the Dai Li at first."

"Even if she was a child, children can be used," Opal argued. Personally, she would not have turned a child away but Suyin hadn't either, despite her understandable reservations.

"I'm not saying it was unreasonable," Baatar said. Opal bit her tongue. She felt bad for interrupting him.

"Go on," she said softly.

Baatar frowned. "Mother took care of Kuvira the first few months. She soon found Kuvira a suitable family to take her in, and they cared for her for several years. When Kuvira turned fifteen she lobbied to become emancipated."

"Why?" Opal asked. "Were they bad parents?"

"Not necessarily," Baatar said. "I think she never felt like they were family, or like anyone was family. Mother tried to take Kuvira under her wing, training her to metalbend, eventually inviting Kuvira to join the dance troupe, supporting Kuvira's duties as a guard. None of those things gave Kuvira that sense of . . . unity, I guess she was trying to find." He chuckled sadly.

"When Suyin exiled Kuvira instead of allowing her to leave, Kuvira realized that she'd never had a family here," he went on. "I was grateful for the opportunity she gave me. I tried to be that family for her. I guess, I guess I misinterpreted what she wanted. She didn't see me as family. She saw the entire nation as a family and me as . . . someone much less important than I thought I was."

Opal swallowed. "Did you need a family, Baatar?" she asked. He looked at her with sad eyes.

"I needed to be recognized," he said. "I've certainly succeeded." He was silent for awhile. "I don't know how much of me was truly trying to help the Earth Kingdom, and how much of me just wanted to get out of my family's shadow. Now mother just wants to move past it, but what I've done, what I've contributed to, I have to be held accountable for that."

"You know I won't forgive you right?" she asked him fiercely, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "Not that easily." For better or for worse. His face, tense with pain and worry, cracked into a smile.

"I know, Opal," he said. She smiled at him.

"All of us did something wrong here," Opal murmered. "We all have something to make up for. I'll make sure mom let's you atone for your crimes and mistakes." Baatar nodded with a sense of seriousness. She could see then that that's what he wanted. She turned away from him, her mind wandering back to Kuvira but it wasn't the time to think about her. Not yet. She glanced back at her brother.

"Opal," Baatar spoke up. "I'm sorry . . . For not freeing you when I saw you on the train." Opal quirked a smile at him.

"You built the room," she replied. "You _did_ free me." Baatar would have told Kuvira about the potential ways Opal could have broken out of the room if he'd really wanted his sister to be her prisoner. Baatar didn't look as confident as Opal felt about that.

"I'll make up for this," he promised her. He looked so tired. "For all of it."

"I'll help you," she replied. "As long as you try to be a better brother _I'll_ try to be a better sister." For the first time she noticed tears in his eyes. He blinked them away.

 It felt surprisingly good to have him here with her. She hadn't been lying. She wouldn't forgive him, not in the way Suyin had. Her mother wanted the pain over, gone. Opal understood that desire very intimately, even though she had dealt with such pain in a different way in the past. She rejected while Suyin accepted, Opal saw now that neither were the correct option.

Opal had made a promise to her brother that she'd make sure that her mother wouldn't simply let him move on. It wasn't her promise to make, only Baatar and Suyin had that power. All she'd done was recognize and support his newfound desire to be held accountable for his actions. But, she'd also realized that forgiveness wasn't simply a matter of seeing who was worst person and putting all the blame on them, focusing on only one side if hurt inflicted by both parties, and moving on. Opal also had her own responsibilities, and she would make sure, she would try her hardest, to do better this time around, for everyone's benefit.

She settled back into the cushions with a new sense of calm. She and Baatar were alike in so many ways, especially when it came to Kuvira. They'd both been too concerned with their own image of her. Opal had an idealized notion of the woman that was impossible to live up to, and she'd punished Kuvira for not meeting those standards. Baatar's infatuation at Kuvira had led him to erase the parts of her personality that were vital to her and dangerous to others.

Kuvira. Opal had assumed that the reason why the metalbender's biological parents hadn't come to Zaofu was because they didn't want to deal with the hassle of being a nonbender or earthbender in a Metal Clan. Kuvira hadn't lied to her, she'd simply misinterpreted the words as something more innocuous. Opal could understand why Kuvira wouldn't want to tell her about her past. It sounded like something so painful it was easier to forget, in theory.

If Opal had learned anything, it was that ignoring something was only making a pact that it would not only _never_ go away but that it would resurface in the worst ways possible. Opal's intense feelings towards Kuvira did not justify the way the airbender had treated her, and regardless of how horrific Kuvira's past had been - it did not absolve the woman of her actions now. It was complicated.

While the airbender was busy thinking, the door suddenly burst open and Republic City's most iconic nonbender stormed into the room. "Asami," Opal said, sitting up in her bed. The last she'd heard the girl had been fixing up one of her hummingbird machines and judging by her clothes she had just finished piloting one.

"You're an engineer, right?" Asami asked, the question directed at Baatar, pacing into the room and throwing down her gloves. Her face was streaked with tears, and she had remnants of a parachute strapped to her back which she unhooked and dumped on the floor. "Well, from what I've seen, Republic City is going to need a lot of rebuilding."

"I'm sorry," he said. Asami didn't say anything. She wiped her tears and took in a shaky breath before wandering over to a desk, pushed into the corner of the room, pulling out a hand mirror from one of the drawers. She sat on the chair between Baatar and Opal and fished makeup out of her coat's many pockets. She was silent for awhile. She methodically cleaned off all her makeup with a wet cloth, leaving her skin wet and shining.

She dried her face, and carefully began reapplying the makeup with her signature dark red lipstick to conclude. Anyone else would look at her and say it was vanity to apply makeup in a war. Asami was just making plans, functioning on the hope that this building wouldn't collapse around their heads. By the time she was done, it looked like she'd never wept at all.

She tilted her head up, returning her tubes of makeup to their designated pockets. "I came here to help the wounded," she said, voice still a little shaky. "Thankfully it doesn't seem like there are too many." There _were_ many, but very few had died from their injuries so far, so Opal could see where Asami was coming from.

"Are you okay?" Opal asked. "What's happening out there?

"We got into the mechasuit," Asami murmered

"That's impossible," Baatar said. "Its shell is platinum, not even my grandmother could bend platinum."

"We drilled through," Asami said. "A machine I designed. Well, Varrick helped and . . . and my father." Asami stopped speaking, frowning. She bit down on her lip, fresh redness smudging across her teeth. "Kuvira killed him. She squashed my father like he was a bug."

"Asami," Baatar said, voice soft.

A distance sound, thunder maybe, roared through the air and dust fell through the ceiling. Asami stood up. "I hate this," she hissed. "I hate being a nonbender. It doesn't matter what we do, it's never enough and we're always the first to die." Baatar nodded sadly. "Baatar, you knew her best," Asami murmured, sitting back down and turning to look at him. "Why is Kuvira doing this?"

"The original reason, the one she told me, was so that she could everyone the safety, stability, and ability to progress that she'd lacked when she was young and had gained in Zaofu," he said.

"So she started a war?" Asami asked, frustration tinting her voice. Baatar shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't defend her. Not anymore.

"In all honesty, I think she just wanted the stability to make her feel safe, in control. Her intentions or . . . justifications . . . were good, she wanted to help everybody, but over time she just got further and further away from them as she realized she couldn't get that feeling just by uniting a few states," he said. "I think she believes that if she creates one unified Earth Nation she'll finally feel what she wants to feel. That she'll finally have enough power and feel in control."

"I thought, if I could be that person for her," Baatar began to say before he interrupted himself. "Someone that could make her feel . . . I don't know. Safe. I don't think either of us expected she would turn on me first. But perhaps she thought me wanting her to stop, even for awhile, was a betrayal. In the end, she was the only person that could make herself ever feel safe."

Asami sighed, long and bitterly. She looked too tired to cry anymore. "I built these roads, and now they've been destroyed." She bit back her next words. Opal had never spoken much to Asami, but she knew enough about her to know that she was an internal person. The nonbender's face was still but Opal knew her mind was racing.

Asami suddenly choked on a sob and Opal sat up, gathering her into a hug. "I'm just tired of hating people," Asami murmured into Opal's shoulder. "It's exhausting. I don't know if I can forgive her what she's done, even if Korra stops her, if she even wants forgiveness. It's too early. It doesn't even feel real. I barely had time to forgive him. Everything's just so . . . _exhausting."_

She put her head in her hands and pinched the bridge of her nose. "And Korra's out there somewhere, and I don't know where she is or if she'll make it back, and I never even . . . I _need_ her." Fat tears started rolling down Asami's cheeks again. "I know she's the Avatar but - I _need_ her to make it back." Opal didn't press the topic, wouldn't realize what Asami was talking about until later. She just held onto the nonbender and hoped she provided her with some comfort.

And there they sat, the nonbenders having done their little part in a war they had not wanted and couldn't stop, feeling that familiar feeling of impotence mixed with grief, waiting for the battle to end. Asami eventually stopped weeping, but as the thundering in the distance got louder Asami reapplied her makeup and left to find Korra. Opal continued lay next to her brother, arms still warm from holding Asami.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: child abuse/neglect mention, murder mention  
> Other notes: I hope this theory is an interesting one, I think it has some literary symmetry with season 3 so I like it. It does, of course, NOT justify Kuvira's actions. Kuvira's actions are completely reprehensible and nothing could possibly justify the pain she caused and lives she destroyed.  
> Also, by the way, Opal actually does stand by Kai in the final battle and does jump after him - landing right in the spirit beam.


	35. Chapter Thirty-Three

**172 AG**

Jinora landed Juicy in Gaipan, a small village her grandparents had aided many years ago. It had originally been a logging town but by Opal's time there was less of a market for wood, since the majority of money rested in mining, and while the village had rebuilt since the flood it had not become as secure as it had been before the evacuation. Even before the Red Lotus's revolution the town's wealth had petered and now bandits circled it like vultures.

The Air Nomads had been requested to come and defend the town but when Opal and Jinora arrived they found that the job had already been completed. The citizens who had called for  the Air Nomads were no longer interested in them. They were civil to the strangers entering their town, but they were busy picking up their lives and getting back into their old rhythms. It surprised Opal.

There was a military presence in the town, people dressed in a dark green that reminded Opal of Zaofu. The soldiers she'd talked to had mentioned that they were working for Kuvira, who according to Jinora had become the Earth Kingdom's interim president while they waited for Prince Wu to reach the age of leadership.

Opal had been stunned to learn that Kuvira, the dancer and guardswoman she'd known from her childhood, had achieved such a level of prestige. Opal had heard of the way she'd been helping cities other than Ba Sing Se but this was the first time they had crossed paths. Opal was even more surprised to actually find Kuvira surveying the town with some of her people.

She glanced at Jinora who shrugged, and Opal took that as permission to approach the interim president. "Kuvira," Opal spoke up, getting the woman's attention. Kuvira's eyes landed on Opal and her serious expression slid into a grin. Opal ran up to the metalbender and jumped into Kuvira's arms and held onto her for a moment. Kuvira seemed surprised but relaxed and hugged Opal in return.

"Nice uniform," she teased her as Opal let go.

"I could say the same to you," Opal said, smirking in response. Kuvira wore a heavily altered guard uniform on top of dark green fabric. She had kept the characteristic metal bands that had been fashionable in Zaofu, but she'd bound them to her extremities and her waist. Her uniform looked cobbled-together but still sturdy and somehow fashionable and sleek.

"It serves its purpose," Kuvira replied. "As I'm sure your uniform does. Have the Air Nomads been treating you well?"

"Very well," Opal said, smiling. "I heard about Ba Sing Se, congratulations! And I heard you became the president, too." The metalbender nodded with a hint of pride. Opal had read newspapers whenever she'd come across any but towns were few and far between and Jinora, with her ability to project her spirit, was the best source of news. She hadn't known that Opal would've been interested on updates on Kuvira, so Opal hadn't known of Kuvira's new position until very recently.

"What brings you to Gaipan?" Kuvira asked Opal, nodding at her soldiers in a way that signalled them to move along as she and Opal began to walk together. "It's possible we came here for the same reason."

"Well, bandits have been raiding this town, haven't they?" Opal mumbled, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"I figured. You don't need to worry about them anymore, Opal," Kuvira said. "I took care of them."

"How?" Opal asked, though she had no doubt in Kuvira's abilities. She could see the effect of Kuvira's army across the nation. With Ba Sing Se being stabilized, Kuvira had succeeded where the Air Nation had failed. Jinora had speculated on why that might have been, and Opal was curious as well as a little frustrated.

"We made them an offer they couldn't refuse," the metalbender shrugged. "All people want now is stability and order, including the bandits. We told them we would either arrest them, or they could join my army and help the land. Needless to say most of them chose the latter." She seemed a little amused.

"You're arresting people now?" Opal asked.

"I'm bringing back stability," Kuvira replied, brow furrowing. "As Interim President it's well within my power to arrest lawbreakers. What would you do in my place?" Opal bit her tongue and Kuvira's expression softened. "They're still a part of the Earth Nation. I'd prefer them joining my forces than having to arrest them."

"I guess so," Opal said reluctantly. She didn't know why it surprised her, perhaps because Zaofu hadn't had prisons. Holding cells, yes, for those who were to be judged. She couldn't imagine Kuvira imprisoning people, even people that deserved it. But then, Kuvira was right. The Air Nomads didn't have the power to do much more than fend off incoming attacks, and they were spread thin as it was. Kuvira really was helping them, but it didn't taste right that she was threatening people with imprisonment.

Kuvira coughed awkwardly. "Do you want to get some lunch?" she asked. Opal blinked, surprised. "There's a small restaurant nearby. I'm sure they could whip something up for us."

"The bandits didn't take everything?" Opal asked. Kuvira smiled and it almost seemed relieved.

"They did, but we replenished the town with the food we keep stocked on the train," she said. "We recruited the bandits this morning, the town signed on with the Earth Kingdom and we've been unloading supplies since then."

"So I guess the nickname is accurate," Opal said, the weight in her chest lifting at the good news and Kuvira's happy demeanour.

"What nickname?" Kuvira asked.

"Come on, I'm sure you've heard of it," Opal said. Kuvira blinked and Opal smiled at her slightly clueless expression. "Everyone's calling you the 'Great Uniter.'" Kuvira's face broke out in a bashful grin.

"Has it really caught on?" Kuvira asked, but it was obvious that she was pleased.

"Hang on a second," Opal said. "When I was in Omashu I found a vendor selling these." She dug around in her sack as Kuvira waited patiently. A few weeks ago Opal and Jinora had stayed in Omashu on their travels and Opal, normally conservative with her coin, bought a shirt that she planned on showing off to everyone back home. Suyin was still angry that Kuvira had left, but Wing and Wei would have found it at least a little funny.

The shirt was made of cotton, bright green, and had Kuvira's face pressed onto it in front of the familiar symbol Opal had associated with Zaofu and the Earth Kingdom in general. Beneath Kuvira's head the words 'All Hail the Great Uniter' was stitched with black thread. She pulled the shirt out of her bag and held it up, grinning. "Look!"

"Oh, Opal, you shouldn't have," Kuvira said, sounding half-dismayed and half-amused. "Now you really have to let me buy you lunch to make up for the cost."

"Isn't it hilarious?" Opal asked cheerfully as she let Kuvira drag her along.

The waiters in the restaurant treated Kuvira stunningly well, seating her and Opal as soon as they walked through the door. Undoubtedly having little time to spare, Kuvira ordered immediately and Opal hastily skimmed the menu for something free of meat. One waiter left with their orders, and another filled their glasses with water. The restaurant wasn't exactly bustling but it was a little ridiculous how Kuvira, and by extension Opal, was being attended to.

No supplies had been able to reach the town prior to Kuvira's intervention, and undoubtedly most of the crops people had tended had been repeatedly burned by bandits. Opal inferred that the ingredients in their meals had been given to the town directly from Kuvira. Kuvira was uninterested in discussing the special treatment.

"Omashu still isn't a part of the Earth Nation," she said, with a polite but cursory glance at the waiter who had poured them water. "How do the citizens fair?"

"Not that great," Opal said. "I think the transportation network they have has allowed them to obtain and retain supplies better than most other places." Kuvira frowned as though Opal had confirmed something. "Why?" Opal asked. "Do you plan on going there next?" She hadn't meant to sound so accusatory and she flushed. Kuvira brushed it off.

"Possibly," she replied airily. "There are so many places in the Kingdom torn apart by anarchy and disorder. Omashu will ask for my help, sooner or later. If they're already calling me the Great Uniter, I'm going to guess sooner." That sort of cockiness was familiar to Opal, it made her remember Kuvira's attitude on the dance troupe. Kuvira looked extremely different, but it warmed Opal to see that not everything had changed even while her words made Opal feel uneasy.

They'd been seated at a window and Opal rested the back of her hand on the wooden sill, enjoying the gentle breeze outside the building and Kuvira's company. "I'm glad this town is okay," Opal murmured.

"So, was the reason for you coming to Gaipan the same as mine?" Kuvira asked, seeking confirmation.

"This village contacted Master Tenzin and me and Jinora were the only Air Nomads in the area," Opal replied easily.

"How is it like travelling with an airbending master?" Kuvira asked. Opal smiled. Opal was a friendly person but neither she nor Jinora were very chatty so it taken some time for them to warm up to each other. Pretty soon however they'd bonded over the fact that they loved books. Now, Opal considered Jinora one of her closest friends.

"Jinora has been teaching me and helping me so much," Opal murmured admiringly. "When the two of us work together we can create a whirlwind big enough to lift her boyfriend up in the air." Kuvira laughed a little at the mental image.

"That's good," she said. "Keep improving, Opal." The waiter then came with their meals, pan-fried noodles for Kuvira and stir-fried cabbage and rice for Opal. Opal helped herself and Kuvira slowly ate her own meal. She seemed to be thinking. After a pause she said, "I'm surprised you're willing to speak with me. I didn't leave Zaofu on the best of terms."

"I know my mom's mad at you," Opal said, pausing eating. "But that's because you were our guard _captain_ and you left and took Baatar with you. Clearly it worked out for you, but my mother hadn't planned for any of that."

"I guess it is understandable," Kuvira said. "All the same, I wish she wouldn't align herself against me. I'm glad you're not like that, Opal."

"Don't get me wrong," Opal said, putting down her meal again and reaching for her glass. "In the end I'll always side with my mom, but she was unfair to you. If you wanted to go she should've let you without banishing you."

"Suyin wants loyalty, I understand that," Kuvira said. "She looks at Zaofu as her entire domain, and everyone within it, to a certain extent, her family. She did build the place, after all, it must have seem like a rejection when I left. It _was_ a rejection. The security of an entire nation is more important than the security of one city. What she feels for Zaofu is what I feel for this entire nation."

"That sounds like something you should talk to my mother about," Opal said softly. She didn't want to be Kuvira and Suyin's go-between, especially since she was loyal to her mother and didn't want to argue with Kuvira.

"Fair enough," the metalbender replied, taking a bite of her noodles. "But," she said, considering. "Tell me this. What if your mother _was_ wrong? Not necessarily about this, but about something important. Would you still side with her?"

Opal frowned. That was a tough question. Her family weren't the most functional bunch, but they did love each other and supported each other. She'd seen her mother's streak of paranoia after finding out that Zaofu had been infiltrated, and a vicious side of her when Suyin had fought her sister. Opal's mother had also taken a life when she'd killed P'Li. While those things scared Opal, Suyin hadn't necessarily been on the wrong side of any of those issues.

"What about you?" she asked, stalling.

"I left Zaofu," Kuvira replied, answering the question with an air of ease. She wanted to know Opal's response for some reason.

"I don't feel comfortable talking about my mother like that," Opal said.

"I didn't really mean Suyin personally anyhow," Kuvira said, and Opal was unable to tell if she was telling the entire truth. Things seemed quite personal between Suyin and Kuvira these days, especially considering that Bataar had left with Kuvira.

"Well, what did you mean?" she asked the metalbender, pinching her food between her chopsticks and popping a bundle of rice into her mouth.

"Well, say anyone from your family, or your boyfriend, or even your friend Jinora. What if they were doing something you knew was wrong, would you stand by them?" Kuvira asked.

"No," Opal said easily. "Since I care about them I'd have to fight for what I know is right. I couldn't just let them keep on doing something terrible."

"Even if you lost them?" Kuvira asked, expression unreadable.

"If they did something I knew was terribly wrong, then I would have already lost them," Opal mumbled. "But I trust my family and my friends. They would be on the right side in the first place." Kuvira's eyes made Opal feel self-conscious about her words. She really didn't think anyone she loved would ever do something like that, but Kuvira had asked her.

It wasn't like Opal wasn't sentimental or loving, but she'd found a kind of practicality in her idealism. Opal loved and would do anything for the people she loved, but if they ever did something hypothetically horrible Opal would have to cut them out of her life until they made up for it. Kuvira seemed to understand that.

She smiled at Opal then. "So," she said. "I'm still salvageable in your eyes."

"I know my mother feels betrayed, but I highly doubt that I'll ever have to choose between the two of you," Opal said. Kuvira seemed less pleased then, but she moved on, a lightness coming back to her demeanour.

"So, how has the distance been between you and our favourite lavabender?" Kuvira asked. She reclined against the chair, relaxing. She looked much more severe then she had a year ago, very neat and controlled, but she also looked beautiful in the way Opal remembered all too well. Opal had grown a little taller in the year they had between them. She still was shorter than Kuvira, but she wondered if the metalbender noticed.

"Hmm?" Opal said. "Oh, Bolin? Well . . ." The waitress came then, topping off their glasses with water. Opal gave her a quick, grateful smile, and continued speaking. "It's a long distance relationship. There are things that are more difficult."

"I can imagine," Kuvira smiled. Opal wondered briefly about the woman back in Zaofu, the dancer she'd seen . . . Opal flushed. After all this time, it was still embarrassing to be near Kuvira. Opal took a drink of water.

"How have _you_ been?" she asked the metalbender. Kuvira grinned like she couldn't help it.

"It's been . . . an amazing journey," she confessed. "When I first left Zaofu I had no idea that it would _ever_ get to this stage. Of course, I wanted it to, who wouldn't want to help people on such a large scale . . . I still can't believe I've gotten this far, though." Opal could see how happy it all made her.

They finished their meals and a waiter came over. Kuvira attempted to pay but the waiter waved her off. A few waiters grinned in the background, watching Kuvira with hungry eyes. Opal was a little mystified but Kuvira moved on. "Well, the train is scheduled to arrive in ten minutes," she said, lifting up her cuff to glance at her watch.

"I'll walk you," Opal said, getting to her feet.

"Do you need a ride anywhere?" Kuvira asked. "Our train was designed by Iknik Varrick, you've met him before, haven't you?" Opal had, back in Zaofu he'd become a fixture at the Beifong family dinner table for a time but she'd never been in the same room with him and Kuvira. She briefly wondered how the two of them had met. "He and his assistant, Zhu Li, have come up with an entirely new type of technology run on magnets. It's quite effective."

"I've heard," Opal said. "But no, I'll stick to the traditional air bison." Kuvira smiled, then glanced at their table. Opal had left the shirt crumpled on it. Kuvira picked it up, intent on passing it to Opal. "Keep the shirt," Opal insisted. "What am I going to do with it, _I'm_ not the 'Great Uniter.'" Kuvira laughed and they headed out of the restaurant into the street.

"I'll have to tell your brother that he was right," Kuvira mused, pinching the fabric between her fingers.

"What do you mean?" Opal asked.

"It's a title he came up with," Kuvira said. "It's important that the people don't see me as their enemy."

"It's . . . propaganda?" Opal asked.

"You could call it that," Kuvira said. "We just thought it rolled off the tongue better then 'Interim President of the Earth Kingdom.' It signals my intentions. I'm . . . pleased to see that people like those intentions." Opal glanced down at the shirt in her hands. That was right. Kuvira was a politician now. All politicians did this, outside Zaofu. Propaganda wasn't something that should surprise Opal.

"You never really told me," Opal murmured. "Why you left. I mean, this was our first chance speaking to each other since Zaofu but . . ." She trailed off. Kuvira had caught onto Opal's hesitant tone, and she grew more serious in response, thoughtful.

"Before I came to Zaofu I knew how it felt to exist in a world that was full of chaos. I lived in Ba Sing Se for a time when I was younger and I know how bad it can get. I found everything I wanted and needed in Zaofu, but Suyin refused to help the Earth Kingdom. She refused to let me resign from being her guard without exiling me. I had to help. I had to leave," Kuvira said.

"I know my mom shouldn't have tried to stop you from going, but you seriously can't blame her for not wanting to become the 'Great Uniter,'" Opal said. Kuvira bristled at the way Opal's attitude at her title had become accusatory. "She didn't want to come off as a dictator."

"Su is frightened of losing control over Zaofu," Kuvira snapped. "She doesn't care about people outside her domain."

"That really doesn't justify resenting her for not wanting to become the Earth Kingdom's Interim President," Opal scowled, a cold anger starting to sink into her body. "I see your army and it looks just like that, like an army, like an occupying force. My mom didn't want to be associated with that, and even if you think it's cowardly you have no right to blame her for that."

"Perhaps you're right," Kuvira relented, and Opal felt her emotions begin to deflate. "But this isn't about Su anymore. I have one purpose, to unite the Earth Kingdom. As long as Su doesn't get in my way I don't see why we can't eventually reconcile." Opal nodded, settling down. She wished that in back in Zaofu she'd talked to Kuvira more about her past since she hadn't known Kuvira had felt so deeply about this.

"I was hoping that my army projected strength for the Earth Nation's protection, not its intimidation," Kuvira mused.

"I'm sorry if I said anything mean," Opal murmured, voice squeezing off into a higher pitched.

"You said what you believed," the metalbender said, eyeing Opal appreciatively. "You've grown. It's good." Opal turned her face away from Kuvira and grinned, pleasure shivering across her body at the praise.

It was nice to speak to each other again and catch up. It felt like forever since she'd seen the woman, and their relationship felt different now. Opal was more confident and she was sure Kuvira could tell. It felt really good to walk next to Kuvira and feel like a peer.

"You know, Opal. You always have a place with us," Kuvira spoke up tentatively. "Baatar would love to have you along." Opal's breath caught in her throat. Kuvira's mission seemed like a noble one, and a successful one. Both the Air Nomads and Kuvira's army were just beginning to gain footing in the world, but Kuvira had tamed Ba Sing Se in a way the Air Nomads could only dream of doing.

Talking to Kuvira now, seeing the hope on her lips as she spoke to Opal as her equal, made Opal's heart sing. Kuvira was lovely and full of purpose and enthusiasm, but so was Opal. As worthy of admiration as Kuvira was, as effective as her army was, and as much as Opal wanted to, briefly, wildly, drop everything and follow Kuvira onto the train and be with her boyfriend and one of the people she admired most in the world, Opal knew better.

"My place is with the Air Nomads," she replied after a pause. Kuvira nodded in understanding.

"I'm just glad you're on my side," she murmured, and for a moment she looked very, very tired.

"Yeah, well," Opal spoke up awkwardly, feeling something cold start to gnaw in the pit of her stomach. "I don't know why I wouldn't be."

Kuvira smiled softly, smoothing out the weariness in her face. "Thanks, Opal. I'll see you around." Opal nodded a little too eagerly. Kuvira gave her one last smile and stepped onto the train, the metal gleaming in the sun. Opal watched the silver machine snake off into the distance and disappear before she turned back to the village to find Jinora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: food  
> Other notes: Sorry for the huge gap between updates! It's been nearly a month, but I won't give up on this story.


	36. Chapter Thirty-Four

**174 AG**

The war ended quietly and in an absence of bloodshed. Bolin's brother had been heavily injured when he destroyed Kuvira's mechasuit but other than that Kuvira had been stopped before she could kill even more people. Asami, Korra, Bolin, Mako, and Tenzin went back to the Sato Estate and Air Temple Island, while Opal's aunt and mother began transferring Kuvira back to Zaofu.

Opal and her brother were healed by Kya, a waterbender who Opal had met after she'd joined the Air Nomads. Kya filled Opal in with all that had happened as she massaged healing water over Opal's wounds. Everyone was safe. No one else had died, not even Kuvira.

After the war, the Air Nomads didn't leave the city. Citizens slowly came back and tried to pick up the pieces along with the Nomads. Republic City was totally destroyed, as much by the good guys as the bad guys. Kuvira had left the city broken; few buildings left were still habitable. The President intended on expanding the city rather than rebuilding it entirely, so the Air Nomads helped where they could.

Opal volunteered in the kitchen, preparing food. People sat in the Sato courtyard with their meals; Air Nomads, nonbenders, people with every conceivable bending status alike. They all wanted to fix their home. Honestly, it was a little inspiring. Opal wondered if in a strange, distant sense, they felt something similar to what her mother and father had felt when they set out making Zaofu. They were chiselling out their old home out of the wreckage, but this time it would be better, stronger.

Opal grabbed a bowl of soup and left the kitchen and wandered outside, cool air brushing against her. She wiped sweat from her face; she wasn't able to tell if it was caused by the heat or humidity of the bustling kitchen. She spotted Korra, Jinora, and a few others curled up by a tree. She walked over to them, careful not to spill her soup.

She sat down next to Bolin and he made room for her. They were still good with each other. The group was composed mostly of airbenders and the Avatar's closest friends. Prince Wu was there as well, sitting next to them in the grass fussing over Mako's arm, trying to make him laugh, and all but crawling onto the ex-detective's lap.

"Opal," Korra grinned at the airbender in greeting. Opal nodded and smiled back, and Korra turned back to her animated conversation with her friends. For this Opal was grateful, she was feeling a little woozy from the kitchen's heat and not up to speaking.

"So, are you going back to Ba Sing Se anytime soon?" Jinora asked Wu conversationally. Opal noticed that younger girl had finally shaved her head again. Half of her conversations with Opal back in the day had been raves about the benefits of baldness. She'd been worried that Kai wouldn't like it when they started dating; Opal guessed he'd taken their reunion as a chance to talk some sense back into her.

"It was pretty much untouched by the war but right now no one's really leading it," Jinora went on. Ikki was resting in her lap and Jinora played with her sister's hair idly. "For now they don't need it but pretty soon someone needs to step up."

"Honestly, I haven't been thinking about it that much," Wu admitted, scratching the back of his head and smiling a little awkwardly. "I was going to stick around for the wedding, I love a good party!"

"Yeah!" Bolin spoke up enthusiastically, picking up the topic. "You all should come! If Zhu Li or Varrick haven't already invited you, consider this your official invitation. I'm going to be the officiant!" He thrust his chest out in pride.

"Really, bro?" Mako said. He backtracked when he realized that his words came off condescending, "Not that I don't think you could, I just never knew -"

"No worries," Bolin replied. "I got it in my head that I was going to be uh - an officiant for a different wedding, so I got my papers and stuff!" His voice trailed weakly through the sentence, Kuvira and Baatar still were sore spots even though they were both put out of commission. "Anyway, Zhu Li asked me if I could do the honours! You guys definitely should come!"

"It's a bit rushed," Mako grumbled, reminding Opal of an old man. "I mean Varrick was a total jerk to Zhu Li ever since we knew him. Zhu Li's nice, she shouldn't be marrying that guy."

"Oh, like you're one to judge," Korra snorted.

Mako flushed. "All I'm saying is that she should do better. Like you! You're doing better," he coughed awkwardly. Opal had never seen Mako dating anyone, but according to Bolin his relationships with Asami and Korra had both been spectacularly terrible. It hadn't sounded as bad as Varrick and Zhu Li's master-servant relationship, but Opal could tell it was fun for Korra to watch her ex squirm.

"Aww Mako, buddy, don't worry, you got me," Wu crooned, latching onto Mako's side, hugging him. "I'll always accept you!"

"Bolin, get him off of me," Mako said half-heartedly. "I'm incapacitated! I can't fight him off by myself." He didn't look that convinced. He pouted at Korra, "Help me out here."

"To be honest, I'm feeling kind of left out," Korra joked. "Not hitting on me anymore, Wu?" The young man grinned contentedly, hanging on tighter to Mako's uninjured arm.

"War has a way of sorting out your priorities," he replied wickedly. Mako looked on, oblivious.

"I guess so," Korra murmured, her voice suddenly growing serious, looking at her hands. "I've been thinking."

"About what?" Jinora spoke up.

"Asami's father," Korra replied. She looked cautious. "And Zaheer."

"You want to let him free?" Mako deduced immediately. "You've got to be kidding."

"I'm not," Korra flushed, defensive but determined to speak her mind. "I think that we could get him to help the airbenders access the ability of flight. You were there when I went to his prison and he _helped_ me.  I'm not saying that I'll ever forgive him for what he did to me, or that he'll ever deserve my forgiveness . . ."

Her hands clenched at her side. It was obvious that even three years later the experience was still raw. "But, without Asami's father we never would've beaten Kuvira," she said definitively. "Our interests align, and we certainly could use his abilities right now."

"He killed the Earth Queen, he tried to kill you. He was a monster," Mako said dismissively. "I mean the guy did the airbender version of bloodbending. _'Breathbending'_. I'm glad that you've managed to work through most of the pain he caused you, but he's twisted. He's not the kind of person that should help rebuild whatever was destroyed in the war."

Bolin looked over at Opal meaningfully. He hadn't told anyone what she'd told him, which surprised her. It wasn't that she thought he'd wanted to, but she'd always felt like Mako would notice when Bolin was keeping something from him and get him to fess up. It hadn't happened. She smiled gratefully at him, glad that she could admit her mistakes on her own terms.

"You don't have to be a monster to do what Zaheer did," she spoke up, unable to keep the nervousness from her voice. "Or, at least I hope not."

"What do you mean?" Korra asked, fixing her gaze on Opal.

"I 'breathbended' once," Opal replied. Noting their shocked looks she quickly added, "I haven't done it since!" She frowned and her fingers burned around her bowl of soup. "I hate that I did, I hate that I'm capable of it. But I mean, I guess what I'm trying to say is that everyone's capable of bad things, and everyone can make mistakes. If you know what you did is wrong, and want to make up for it, then you should be given that opportunity."

"Not as an ultimatum," she said, looking at Bolin. "But as a _chance_. To do better because you want to do better. Not everyone deserves forgiveness, but everyone deserves a chance to become a better person." She didn't believe that Korra wanted to redeem Zaheer, or that redemption was even something he wanted, but rather that Korra recognized him as someone she could use to make the world a better place, in more ways than one.

Korra nodded. "If Zaheer can teach the airbenders how to fly that would be a huge asset to the entire world. I'm the Avatar, I kind of have to look out for the entire world, and I don't want to make a world where we can't get second chances. There are many things I did that barely deserved forgiveness but you guys understood _why_ I did those things and forgave me."

Mako glanced down at his lap and smiled a little, probably remembering the times he screwed up in the past as well. "I guess I understand that," he said. His gaze narrowed. "Still, Korra. Be careful with this." Korra nodded and smiled at her friend.

"If he steps out of line I'll stop him myself," she said, voice firm. "But I don't think he will. What I'm giving him is a chance to actually improve our world, to give people more freedom. He's not going to sabotage that. He still doesn't regret what he did to me, but he knows that I can stop him, and _will_ stop him, for as many times as I have to."

Opal almost felt chills at the power behind Korra's words. She could remember how shocked and disappointed she had felt when Kuvira had beaten Korra at Zaofu. It had been selfish of Opal, uncompassionate, but there was no point in pretending that it wasn't how Opal had felt. She'd thought she'd had faith in Korra, but it wasn't true. Now Opal knew how believing in someone felt.

Mako nodded, trusting Korra as well. Opal could tell that the Avatar and him could get pretty hotheaded when their opinions clashed, a trait Opal recognized in herself. But being friends that worked together instead of yelling at each other, which according to Bolin had comprised a large chunk of their romantic relationship, clearly made them both feel at ease. The silence following their conversation was peaceful, even to Opal. Mako turned to Wu.

"Want to head back?" he asked him softly. Wu looked surprised. He'd been slightly sulking, leaning his forehead against Mako's arm waiting for the Avatar-talk to finish. He grinned brightly at Mako.

"Sure," he said, helping Mako to his feet almost too eagerly. Korra rolled her eyes, a small smile on her lips.

"Rather him than me," she muttered.

"Huh?" Mako asked her.

"Oh nothing," she said sweetly, grinning and nudging Jinora who snickered. Bolin also looked a little confused, and then it hit him.

"Oh," he said. _"Ohh."_

"Korra," Opal spoke up. The Avatar's grin melted into something gentler and more considering. "I heard you visited Zaofu awhile back. Do you know what's happening there?" Korra had been travelling across the world checking out damages and helping rebuild, whereas Opal had just been rebuilding Republic City. She'd sent letters to her family and Wing and Wei, and missing them by a few days Huan as well, had visited her, but it wasn't the same as being there.

"Rebuilding is going on just fine," Korra said slowly. "No domes, yet. Suyin said it fostered paranoia. I don't think she's going to put them up again."

"There's no need anymore," Opal agreed. "Originally it was for keeping Zaofu protected from Earth Kingdom interference. Now the Earth Queen is gone, the country is stabilized, Kuvira has been . . ." she trailed off. She didn't know what had happened to Kuvira. She knew vague details, she didn't want to pressure her family for answers. There was no time to think now, only work and rebuild. Sitting with Korra and her friends in the courtyard was a minor break that gave her a chance to catch her breath. With that breath she asked about Kuvira.

"She's still being held in Zaofu," Korra said. "Similar prison to the one your parents were kept in, according to Bolin."

Opal glanced at Bolin who shrugged sheepishly. He'd been travelling a lot with Korra in between helping rebuild Republic City, and he and Opal hadn't really had a chance to talk.  "It's made of wood," he explained.

"It's humane," Korra said. "I mean, as humane as keeping people in cages are. She did the same to your family, I guess."

"You saw her?" she asked.

"Yeah, I spoke with her," Korra replied. "She caused a lot of pain, but she really thought she was doing the right thing like every other person I fought. Amon, Zaheer and all his friends, even Unalaq. Like we all do, right before we make a mistake." Her expression became heavy with memories of her past. She glanced up and her gaze caught a tall figure strolling through the courtyard. Hope pricked in her eyes and she got to her feet. "I'll see you later," she told them, suddenly lighter. She started off half-jogging towards Asami.

With Mako, Wu, and Korra gone the group was much smaller. Jinora smirked after Korra and snorted before turning a serious gaze on Opal. "You bended someone's breath?" she asked her. Ikki had stirred and was watching Opal quietly. She didn't feel judged.

"Yeah," she replied. It was going to be a few years until she was comfortable talking about what had transpired.

"You know," Jinora said. "That was the reason all the old airbenders were monks. Every airbender has that ability. It's not like bloodbending, which requires a gift. The closest we have to bloodbending is causing oxygen to pool in one part of the bloodstream and causing an -" she cut herself off, flushing. She probably knew as much airbender history as her father.

"My point is, I could probably bend someone's breath if I put my mind to it," Jinora said. "It's just air. Air in someone's lungs, but still air. The airbenders swore a pact of nonaggression because . . . just imagine it. You know what we can do if we pool all our powers together. If we didn't have that pact we could slaughter entire armies, entire cities, without shedding _any_ blood."

Opal flinched at the image Jinora's words conjured. It was true. "The pact didn't stop me from killing anyone," Opal said. She suddenly realized who she was talking to. "Am I - are you going to kick me out of the Air Nomads? I mean, I'll understand if you do, but -"

"Opal," Jinora interrupted her. "We're not the original Air Nomads. We weren't raised the way they were and we don't know our capacities and limitations yet. I don't know what I would've done if Kuvira had taken my family. When some of her soldiers took Ikki I didn't hesitate to knock them out even though Ikki had the situation under control."

"That was cool of you, actually," Ikki spoke up blearily.

"The reason the pact is in place is so that we have another safeguard to not become people who are our enemies. You chose not to kill anyone, and I can tell you wish you never tried," Jinora said. "I agree with what Korra said just now. If someone wants to make up for what they've done, they should get that chance."

"Thank you," Opal said, folding her arms over her knees.

"Air Nomads aren't just supposed to be nonviolent, we're supposed to be forgiving," Jinora said, putting her hand on top of Opal's shoulder. "But forgiveness isn't just about forgetting what someone's done, we have to acknowledge what someone's done wrong or we'll never repair it."

"Forgiveness is hard," Opal blurted out.

"Hard but important," Jinora said. "Everyone makes mistakes. We have to hold people accountable but keep the belief alive that they can do better. You can do better. We'll help." Jinora smiled at Opal and Opal barely kept herself from tearing up.

"Even if we got back together after we saved your family," Bolin spoke up, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't have felt like I'd actually deserved it. Helping rescue your family wasn't enough just like freeing people from her prison camps and fighting against her in the final battle wasn't enough. I still have a lot to make up for, but that feels good. Like I have a direction."

"But I hurt you," Opal said, turning to him. "You don't have to make up for _anything."_

"Yes, I _do_ ," Bolin said. "I hurt you to, and you hurting me back doesn't cancel that out. We all hurt each other, but the world's gotta be better than that. I thought, we all thought, that Kuvira was going to kill Korra or force Korra to kill her. But Korra _saved_ her. We have to save each other more. I have to think that we're all worth saving." He turned away, pouting a little. "I mean, except Unalaq, that guy was just a jerk."

"Thanks Bolin, Jinora," Opal murmured. "You've given me a lot to think about. I'm going to do better." Jinora looked at her with a pride that looked out of place on a child five years younger than her. Bolin just grinned at Opal and Opal eventually picked herself up and went back to the kitchens.

Righteousness felt good, but wielded indiscriminately it only caused damage. The forgiveness Bolin and Jinora was talking about, it felt bad. It felt wobbly and dangerous and so, so important. Opal felt the feeling build at the back of her throat and she let it rest there for awhile. She was hopeful. Amidst her fear she was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: food, mass murder mention, strangulation mention


	37. Chapter Thirty-Five

**175 AG**

The wedding was . . . surprisingly beautiful. A joint effort on Zhu Li and Varrick's part, it was set at Air Temple Island at sunset. Lanterns hung in the air and people standing on ladders sprinkled fake snow on the couple against a backdrop of mountains. A cameraperson was filming the wedding and after the vows were read fireworks lit up the sky.

Afterwards, people danced, laughed, ate until the sun sank past the horizon and the blue lines of light were lit as well. A jazz band from Republic City was playing and scantily dressed men served appetizers. The war was over. The beauty of the ceremony's decoration still held a sharp contrast to the city across the water, which was still mostly wreckage. But, the fighting was done.

Opal was sitting with her fellow Air Nomads; Kai and Jinora had crept away from the celebration. Opal chatted with her friends for awhile, soaking up the atmosphere of the party, but when she caught sight of Bolin she got to her feet. She approached his table and grinned at him.

"Amazing ceremony," she said. Bolin quickly and ungracefully swallowed whatever he'd been eating and got to his feet. She couldn't help but laugh.

"You think?" he asked, a little bashfully.

"For sure," she said, grabbing his hand on a whim. "One last dance?" she asked.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Bolin asked. The last time they'd tried dancing together they'd ended up with bruised toes and shins. Opal smiled and nodded. He reluctantly smiled back and let her pull him onto the dance floor. His grin came easier then.

They still couldn't dance worth anything but they moved slowly and didn't bump into anyone or step on each other so it was an improvement. Her palms weren't sweaty and her pulse wasn't fluttering like it used to with him but somehow that made it better. They were more relaxed with each other.

Bolin, by himself, was just tense. She could tell he was trying to keep himself from rambling. He'd conducted himself so well at the ceremony and said very beautiful things; she'd been impressed by him and was happy for him. She could tell that he was still a little nervous by the way he carefully watched their movements and didn't speak.

"You can talk, you know," Opal joked.

"Oh, good," Bolin said. "Because I think I saw Eska earlier, you remember Eska, right? My ex-girlfriend, well, my first ex-girlfriend." There wasn't even a pause to be awkward in. "Varrick and Zhu Li wouldn't have invited my very scary ex-girlfriend to a wedding I'm officiating, would they? Maybe it was her brother . . . But Eska and Desna always come in pairs!" He turned his gaze onto his dancing partner. "Opal, you'll still protect me if Eska tries to date me again?"

"I'm sure you'll be able to handle her now," Opal said easily. Bolin didn't look convinced, scanning the dance floor fearfully, but then his eyes fell on Opal and he smiled. And they danced.

Wei eventually cut in, half to tease his sister and half to tease Bolin, leaving Opal to wander the dance floor by herself. Ikki was still dancing with Huan which made her giggle. She wandered over to her family's table. In the months between the wedding and the destruction of Republic City she hadn't really had time to catch up with them.

"Hi mom," she said, hugging Suyin and moving on to hug her father before sitting down next to them. "Gorgeous ceremony, huh?"

"It was lovely," Baatar agreed. "I was a little surprised that she agreed to marry him."

"Well, I wouldn't think too poorly of her decision," Suyin spoke up. "Zhu Li's running the company now, _officially._ I always suspected she was the more intelligent of the two, even while he had his bursts of inspiration."

"Zhu Li owns Varrick's company?" Opal asked.

"Well, it's still called Varrick Global Industries, but it is most certainly Zhu Li's now, exclusively," Suyin took a sip of wine. "He apparently wanted to change the name to Zhu Li Global Industries as a romantic gesture, but she had a _much_ better idea. She may have to scrub his calluses but she certainly got the better end of the deal."

That made Opal feel slightly better. She didn't think Zhu Li had been in love with Varrick three years ago or that that was why she'd let him mistreat her for so long, but she still thought that Zhu Li deserved better than him. If anything, according to Bolin, falling in love with Varrick had made Zhu Li realize she needed to be treated better by him.

But if Zhu Li actually owned the company, she now had Varrick in a very precarious position and he probably hadn't even noticed yet. Opal snorted into her glass. Zhu Li wasn't going to scrub his calluses, or fulfill any of the things on the ridiculous list of demands Bolin had nearly read out at the ceremony. "That's good," Opal said.

"So," Suyin said, easing the subject onto a different course. "How has it been, helping rebuild Republic City?"

"It's gone very well," Opal nodded. "The Air Nomads have mostly just been repairing people's homes, but Asami has some designs stretching out for the next ten years to improve and _expand_ the city. Dad's help has really made things easier for her."

"Baatar has helped?" Suyin asked, glancing at her husband.

"No, I haven't, I've been busy with Zaofu," Baatar said softly. "Your brother has been sending letters to and receiving them from Miss Sato, however."

"Oh," Opal said. Asami had mentioned a 'Baatar' and she'd assumed it was her father. "I guess that's a good thing, then. How is he?"

Suyin downed her wine glass. She sighed and murmured, "He's alright. He's in prison. We had to make one for him. All day he sits at his desk and designs. He looks exactly as he did before he left." She sounded miserable.

"Zaofu wasn't built to be a prison," Opal said. "If this is the legacy we get from surviving the war, then it's a bad one."

At his wife's side, Baatar nodded. "Dear," he said. "We have to let him go. You have to let him go." Suyin nodded, quickly, tensely.

"Alright," she said with an air of surrender. It was clearly an argument she'd been having in her mind for a long time.  "I'll make arrangements once we get back." Opal felt a pang of pain. Her parents were the only people who couldn't enjoy the wedding, their minds were still back in Zaofu. "Kuvira said to me once," Suyin murmured. "That I _kept_ my people, like birds in a cage."

"She wanted to hurt you," Opal said immediately.

"No," Suyin said, sounding troubled. "This was when she first left, when I ordered her to stay. I see now that she and I were more similar than I ever imagined. I demanded absolute loyalty from my people because I was so frightened that the Earth Queen would take away all that Baatar and I had accomplished. I felt I had the right to control every aspect of my city in exchange for allowing people to live there."

Suyin didn't say it out loud, but Opal knew it was eating her up inside. Kuvira had done what Suyin had done on a much larger scale. Opal knew that the context was different, Kuvira had conquered weakened states whereas Suyin had created a separate space for herself, but it was good that her mother was questioning her actions. "I heard you're not rebuilding the domes," Opal spoke up. Suyin nodded.

"There's no point to them anymore," she said. "Apparently Zaofu, the most secure city in the world, wasn't secure enough for Kuvira," Suyin said bitterly. A flash of guilt crossed her face. "I told Korra she was like a daughter to me, but I suppose that wasn't entirely true. I wanted her to succeed me, certainly, and I instilled my values in her, but I never took care of her as a child. Perhaps I should have. Maybe then things would have been different."

"Zaofu is a place of second chances," Opal said, parroting the words the Matriarch had boasted many times. "You were never her mother, you were her mentor and you can still offer her support."

"Opal, it's too late," Suyin replied. "Kuvira _killed_ people." Opal realized she shared more flaws with her mother than she'd thought.

"You've killed people," Opal said, reminding her mother of the combustion bender though she was certain she didn't have to. "I'm not saying that she was so badly hurt by you not taking care of her as a child that she became a dictator that threw her people into camps. I'm not even saying it's your fault if she looked at your leadership and tried to impose your values on the Earth Kingdom through violence. If any of those things are true, it was always _her_ decision and you still would've been right to stand against her. But, you're keeping her in Zaofu, right?"

Suyin looked conflicted and her husband nodded. Opal frowned. "You want something from her too. The world isn't as simple as . . . bad guys and good guys, as much as I like to pretend it is sometimes. You want to forgive her and Baatar but you're not used to that. _I'm_ not used to that. But just . . . doing nothing helps no one, including yourself."

"I'll admit that me keeping Baatar in such conditions is - not my place anymore," Suyin said. "But Kuvira's situation is more complicated. I'll need to consult the other world leaders before I make anymore decisions regarding Kuvira. But . . . for what it's worth . . .  I think you're right, Opal. I shouldn't be her warden, especially given our past with each other."

She folded her hands together. "I did wrong her. I let my anger get the best of me. I took her leaving personally, she was guard captain and she left the place I'd worked so hard to build and had trusted her to protect. It wasn't my place to impose all of that on her, I should have given her more say in a city I wanted her to someday lead. I should have given my son more credit, instead of blaming him leaving on her. I should've tried to help the Earth Kingdom more, but I was so afraid of losing Zaofu if I opened it up to refugees. I . . . really messed up quite a lot, didn't I?"

Her husband smiled gently at her side and Suyin nodded to herself. The situation was a lot more complex than Opal had thought it was, but Suyin was beginning to realize that keeping Kuvira prisoner in Zaofu couldn't work. She glanced over at Opal. "It will take a while to sort out the necessary paperwork. Would you like to visit her in the meantime?" she asked, tense and tired. Opal thought about it.

"I guess I should," she replied. In the light of all that had happened, it was Opal's own hypocrisy keeping her from going to Kuvira. She was avoiding giving Kuvira forgiveness as much as she was avoiding asking for forgiveness in return. Opal had thought she was so mature but she was only beginning to grow.

Before, if someone wronged her she wouldn't forgive them until they fixed that. She saw now in certain situations without giving a little trust it was impossible for people to truly repent in any meaningful way. She wanted to give Kuvira that opportunity, it really was the bare minimum she could do for hurting her, however unwittingly.

Opal hadn't known about Kuvira's past and the pain and fear she felt. If she had, odds were that she wouldn't have treated Kuvira in a way that begged apologizing now, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. As a child everyone had worried about Opal being meek and allowing herself to be pushed around because she was a girl and a nonbender. That had never been an issue.

Opal was too unforgiving; to the point where she'd push people away - people she cared about. She wouldn't listen to what they had to say because they shouldn't have done anything to ask for forgiveness in the first place. Her righteousness and fierce idealism would reject the reality that people were flawed, that _she_ was flawed. She'd never been put in a position to prove herself before so she could afford such strict ideals. But given the chance, she'd failed those ideals and had used them to hurt others.

In this instance Opal had been right, Kuvira had done terrible things, things that it wasn't her place to forgive. But Opal's righteousness had put Bolin in danger and had left her unaware of who Kuvira truly was - someone who was hurting.

Opal had to find that balance, between being too lenient and being too intolerant. Korra had dug up inside the gut of the world and found that balance, Opal knew it was possible. But first, she needed to be honest with the people she'd hurt. It was going to be uncomfortable, but if Opal only knew one thing anymore it was that she was certain it would be worth it.

"I'll visit her," she said again, a promise, a new oath, hands cupping the cool glass between her fingers. The jazz swelled and the moon rose. Asami and Korra came back to the party smiling, hands brushing together. Prince Wu convinced Mako to dance a little with him, and Mako proved to be truly a terrible dancer. At one point, Bolin got up on stage and sung with the band and Varrick glided over the wedding, barely rescued by Tenzin. For the first time, in a long time, things were good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: alcohol, food


	38. Chapter Thirty-Six

**175 AG**

A few months passed before Opal finally found the time to travel to Zaofu. A lot had transpired in that period. Elections were starting up for the first time in Ba Sing Se, and Opal's grandmother had wandered back into the public eye, causing a stir of gossip in the Earth Nation. Korra and Asami, two women who had went above and beyond for the world and Republic City, had decided to take a much deserved vacation in the Spirit World. They'd come back after a week or so, and revealed their relationship to the world.

Zaheer, who had been locked up for years in solitary confinement, was released a few months ago and Opal even met the man some time after Zhu Li's wedding. In the past, one of his friends had tried to kill her but Zaheer looked nothing like the man she'd seen in the newspapers back then. Opal wasn't about to trust him but she also didn't think he was going to about-turn and become evil again.

He was still a prisoner, allowed certain freedoms in exchange for teaching the airbenders Guru Lahima's way of flight. Very few people had a talent for it; Opal hadn't taken a lesson, but Kai and Jinora were apparently some of the most dedicated students, despite having fought directly against him all those years ago. There was a leap someone had to take to be able to fly, but Guru Lahima had never had to lose everyone around him to reach that ability and Zaheer was convinced, or at least Korra was, that an airbender could reach that state through meditation and sheer will.

Ikki had sent Opal letters, and Opal knew that she was determined to become the first new Air Nomad capable of flight. She'd known Zaheer before he revealed his true identity, and he had shared some of his knowledge of Guru Lahima with her years ago, before he'd learned to fly. Opal had faith that Ikki would be able to learn before the year was out, even if no one else would be able to. Flying Air Nomads, now that would be a sight to see.

Opal wondered how much of the changes in the world Kuvira was aware of. Opal's father might have had the foresight to send Kuvira newspapers, or Kuvira might have overheard some guard's gossiping, but still it was unlikely that the prisoner would be able to fully appreciate the way the world was growing without her. Opal didn't know how Kuvira was taking her imprisonment at all except that she had been told that the metalbender had completely surrendered after Korra had saved her life.

Opal had spent most of that night bedridden, but she remembered the aftermath well. She hadn't left the factory until the next day, eager to go back home and help liberate Zaofu. She, Kai, and Jinora had travelled back to Opal's hometown, finding that after Kuvira had been captured her forces had crumbled and the people of Zaofu had used that to their advantage, removing most of the invaders themselves. The Nomads were soon called back to Republic City.

The world was in harmony, and the Avatar was taking advantage of the time she had to finish healing, and nurturing her relationship with her girlfriend. Asami had formed a partnership with Zhu Li so that her company could be run without her having to be present. The peace was beautiful, but Korra was the Avatar, so Asami made plans that would allow her to fight at her girlfriend's side in the future.

Though neither Korra nor Asami had taken the reigns in repairing Republic City, they were still both very influential figures. Asami had collaborated with Raiko in planning the expansion and had indirectly given Opal her orders, and everyone looked to Korra for their cue on how to live after the war. Building and repairing buildings was demanding while rewarding work, and it had left Opal with little time to wonder about Kuvira.

As Opal sat alone on the train into the city she had plenty of time to reflect on the metalbender she was coming home to visit. The sight that met her gaze stunned her from her thoughts. Zaofu was still naked, but it no longer looked gutted in the way that it had when Opal, Lin, and Bolin had seen it from the mountain vantage point. Rather, the buildings seemed to shine beneath the sun in a way that seemed almost jewel-like. Zaofu had always been famed for its domes, but the houses beneath the domes were just as beautiful.

The train rolled to a stop and Opal stepped off. She wandered by herself for awhile, and a few people saw her uniform and remembered the people who liberated Zaofu. They thanked her as a Nomad, not recognizing her as Opal Beifong, sole daughter of the Metal Clan matriarch. It was a change Opal welcomed and she acted as graciously as she could on behalf of the Nomads.

The city looked completely different, but there was a current of familiarity that pulled her through the streets. Up close, she could really appreciate how much the city had changed. For one, the fashion in Zaofu was different. Previously there had only been a few clothing stores and designers but the refugees displaced from the war pouring into Zaofu had brought along their own styles that had added diversity that hadn't been present before in Zaofu's homogeny.

There was also, for whatever reason, more music in the air. Different genres, unfamiliar artists, someone was playing a record that Opal could swear she recognized as Prince Wu's new band. It was a subtle difference, but it was enough to make Opal's head spin. There were more restaurants as well, if Opal wasn't mistaken. She could see that Zaofu still valued aspirations for reaching someone's full potential, and that intrinsic part of the culture had not changed, but the city was more inviting now, less frightened.

Opal hadn't seen it before, not until she had spent three years away from the city and was able to see it function when war was not threatening it, but Zaofu had in fact always had an undercurrent of fear. She had never seen it before because she had never felt fear, had never witnessed the brunt of the threat against a city that dared to call itself the 'safest city in the world'. Zaofu had always been afraid.

Without the domes to protect it, ironically, people seemed less troubled and more open. They had realized not only that the domes could not protect them, but that the domes were unnecessary in the first place. Without the Earth Queen always scheming to reclaim the city there was no need to fear anything, the domes staying up had been as much of a threat as anything else had been. They had been a dare to everyone outside the city, from the Earth Queen to bandits, to regular people who lived in horrible conditions, to everyone who couldn't gain entry. No wonder the security force in Zaofu had always been given so much power.

The domes had been a source of resentment for people who could not gain Su's trust, something Opal had learned travelling as an Air Nomad. Su, because of her fear of losing her city, had rarely let newcomers live there on a permanent basis. She had to approve of them, as did Aiwei, and most people could not meet those standards.

Kuvira had been one of the exceptions. A child Suyin had felt for and allowed in. A child Suyin had a hand in raising to become someone to protect the security and the homogeny of Zaofu. Now, without the domes, it seemed that all the pretence had been stripped away. The truth had come out about the nature of Kuvira's camps as well.

Opal hadn't wanted to believe it, had loved Kuvira as much as she'd hated her, and it had rendered her unseeing of Kuvira's actions. She had known that Kuvira was a tyrant, that she was willing to hurt people. She hadn't known that Kuvira had been locking up non-earthbenders, though Bolin had assured her it was true and that he had been fooled as well.

Zaofu, in its fear, had become restrictive, uniform, desperately trying to preserve its values. Kuvira, a true child of Zaofu, had done the same. Opal wished she'd known. But now Opal was coming to speak to Kuvira. She wanted to forgive her. She wanted to know how it was like to forgive someone unforgivable. She didn't know if she would be capable of it. She didn't know if, for once, Opal's righteousness would be warranted.

Zaofu had became analogous to the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, and Kuvira, an untrustworthy child had been allowed in. Opal could understand why it would foster paranoia in Kuvira, why she would want to extend the privilege she'd experienced in Zaofu to the rest of the Earth Kingdom with her own fearful, twisted worldview. Opal thought perhaps she could explain it, but she couldn't excuse it. Besides, Zaofu had changed now. Opal could see that clearly in everything and everyone.

The way Zaofu had once been, the Zaofu Kuvira had been brought up in, wasn't sustainable. The only thing that could sustain and protect Zaofu was the people who lived in it, and they had all bowed to the first intruder that had come. But now, they were making the city as much as Su and Baatar once had, rebuilding it and making it stronger. Zaofu was no longer just the Metal Clan's. It contained all the values that had made it beautiful, a jewel among cities, but now Opal thought it was a real place and not just a mirage of glory. It was becoming something worth fighting for, not just protecting.

But something marred Opal's vision as she wandered further into the city. The rest of the buildings were beautiful, mostly metallic with a few new wooden houses built by newcomers, lit up by the sun. There were small, ugly domes lying in the middle of Zaofu, built of the same platinum that had been salvaged from Zaofu by Kuvira; a reminder of the war, of the past. It was Opal's destination.

She approached the dome and the guards, recognizing her and having received word from Suyin, let her in. It was chilling to stand inside the place. The Zaofu outside had been pretty, full of hope, the fragrance of flowers and food lingered in the air as well as the sound of Prince Wu warbling from a record player. Inside the dome there was nothing, no sound, no scent. Just darkness.

A guard she recognized as being at her birthday party all those years ago led her deeper inside the dome. It was cold, large enough to not be stuffy but small enough to feel oppressive. She could see up ahead, lit by lights hanging from the ceiling, a wooden room that looked more like a crate than anything else. Historically, earthbenders had been imprisoned in ships. Next to water, air was the best prison for metalbenders.

Opal was taken to an elevator that she inferred was used to transport food up to the prisoner. She stood still inside as it pulled her to the sky. She looked at the walls around her and she could see what a mess the place was, barely scrapped together. It was so clear how weak and last-minute this plan had been, it was not built to last.

The construction of the crate that was the prison was so crafted with more finesse; Opal could see that her father had worked on it. He didn't hate the prisoners, he was just good at his job. She'd never very much considered her father's relationship with Kuvira. She'd never seen them interact, really. All the same she felt like he had a more impartial eye than anyone else.

Her father wouldn't _want_ to build Kuvira or his son a prison regardless of the fact that they'd done the same to him; it just wasn't in his nature. If, however, if he was asked to build one he would construct one that would not break - unlike the dome it was all encompassed in which already seemed fractured, ready to be pulled apart. Domes didn't suit Zaofu any longer; this one was begging to be pulled down.

The wooden crate, at a closer view, was much more like a room than it had been described to Opal. Even the crate itself was placed on strong wooden beams, not hovering precariously in the air like the box Huan had described to her. There was enough room inside for a desk, a bed, and a shelf of books. Opal noted that there were folded newspapers on the desk next to the dozens of sheets of paper, architectural and engineering plans. Baatar sat on the bed, shoulders hunched, waiting to see his visitor's face.

"Opal," he said, mouth falling open.

"Hi," she said. He didn't seem like he'd been expecting her.

"How have - how have you been?" he asked.

"I've been okay," Opal said.

"How has . . . everyone else been," he murmured, trailing off. "You can't really tell from the papers. I know you'll be honest with me."

"Things have been . . . better," Opal said. "We've been repairing and rebuilding everything we can. We've also managed to track down most of Kuvira's generals and bring them to justice. There's a lot of anti-waterbender and anti-firebender sentiment in the Earth Kingdom thanks to Kuvira and her army, but we've been trying to repair that to."

"Most of our soldiers were just people," Baatar said. "They didn't make the decisions, the burden of blame lies with Kuvira and I."

"Well, the soldiers in Fire Nation were just people too," Opal said. "People who aligned themselves with a genocidal dictator."

"That's fair, I suppose," he said.

"Why did you stand with her?" Opal said, suddenly feeling angry but it was different this time. She wasn't going to give up on him. "You had to know that purging the Earth Nation from non-earthbenders was wrong. Firelord Ozai tried to purge the world of earthbenders, Azulon tried to do the same to waterbenders, and Sozin succeeded in elimating all airbenders but the Avatar. It never occurred to you that that's _exactly_ what you were doing?"

"Kuvira wanted strength through unity," Baatar said. "We lived in the Earth Nation. It made sense to me . . . it made sense to our troops . . . that people without Earth Nation heritage that weren't willing to go above and beyond to support the Earth Nation were detracting from that unity. Even in Zaofu, you could see that. I know that's not what mother intended, but that's what she got. A Metal Clan. What Kuvira tried to do was to make the entire Earth Nation into a place like Zaofu."

"And that's what mom refused to do," Opal said. "Because she _knew_ that something like this would happen and you all blamed her for not stepping up."

"I know that now," Baatar said. "Back then, I just didn't care." Tears of frustration and sadness welled up in Opal's eyes.

"Why did you do something like this?" she asked.

"I don't know if this was a reason or just an excuse," Baatar said. "But we live in a Metal Clan. Even now I'm imprisoned by metal that I'll never be able to free myself from. I deserve it but it's still an important truth. You were just a child when the nonbenders in Republic City began protesting. I could tell you felt for them even through all the propaganda but I was invested."

"Being a nonbender . . . You have to be smart, you have to be useful and cunning and quick or benders, they'll just . . . leave you behind," he muttered, voice harsh with emotion. "Father was . . . He would have been an architect even if he'd been born a bender. But me . . . I became an engineer because . . . What else could be? Who am I but my father's son, clinging to my parents' robes for protection."

"The Equalists failed, of course, but I had been inspired. I studied Hiroshi Sato's machines, learned to design beyond what would be useful for Zaofu," he went on. "But there was no place for any of that here. I was just acting out, immature and spiteful, but it was how I felt. You _liked_ my drawings, Huan complimented me on my style once, I think. Kuvira was the first person who took them seriously, who took _me_ seriously."

"When Kuvira planned on leaving Zaofu she told me she was in need of someone with my skills. She made me feel like I was needed, respected. As a person, not as Junior or as just an engineer, but as her partner in ending the strife in the Earth Kingdom. I followed her and helped her in her mission, finally feeling like I was being heard. And I was. All of mother's friends that left her as soon as Kuvira presented an opportunity, the same people that would laugh at me and mock me because of how I was just a less talented version of my father, because the Metal Clan leader's eldest child was a nonbender, a dud, they suddenly respected me," he said. _"I_ started respecting me."

"I was helping build a new Earth Nation, and though Kuvira began to hunger for power and control more and more, thinking that purifying the Earth Nation would bring the unity that she was seeking, it didn't matter. I had Earth Nation heritage, I was helping the Earth Nation, I was safe even if I was a nonbender. For _once_ my being a nonbender didn't hinder me. I could care less about the people were using, we were too busy looking at what we could accomplish then the cost."

"What about Varrick?" Opal asked, wiping her eyes. "And Zhu Li? I know Varrick's a little all over the place but he's Water Tribe, even if he is a nonbender."

"Varrick is an opportunist," Baatar dismissed. "He made propaganda of his own people to sell weapons in a Civil War he helped incite. All he cared about was his innovations and inventions, and Zhu Li was his assistant. They knew what Kuvira was planning, what she was doing. We all knew." His eyes flickered back to Opal, amending. "Bolin didn't."

"I broke up with him," she replied.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Not because of that," she said, she just felt that she should let Baatar know. "I have feelings for someone else. And me and Bolin would never last anyway . . . Not after all that happened. We made each other happy when nothing important was happening, but when something did I realized we didn't fit together." Baatar nodded.

"Kuvira wanted a strong Earth Nation," he went on. "Nonbenders and earthbenders alike. She compared it to metal . . . Enriched, empty of impurities, strong. If immigrants wanted to stay in the Earth Nation they would have to work to make it stronger, or be exiled." Opal could see what he meant. Kuvira's plans had really been so much like a twisted version of Zaofu, the first place that had given Kuvira any feeling of comfort.

"We were in such a precarious situation," Baatar laughed. "Of course we couldn't exile people, not yet, not when we were still gathering strength to be able to defend the nation. So we created 'Re-education Camps', we created prisons. We used slave labour and propaganda, and we raised our strong Earth Nation soldiers to be brave and righteous so as not to care about how they, we, were hurting Earth Nation citizens."

"And we would have succeeded, too," Baatar said. "I'm sure of this. We would have captured Republic City, and Kuvira would not have been satisfied. I noticed it after Zaofu. I had been so sure Kuvira would've been content afterwards but she was not. She was so hungry for whatever she thought power would give her, nothing ever would have satisfied her."

"We would've attacked the South Pole first, where the Avatar's family lives. I don't know if we would have imprisoned them, or if we would've said the people living at the South Pole were too dangerous for Earth Kingdom stability. I'm so thankful that Republic City was evacuated because we wouldn't have stopped. We never would have stopped."

"You wanted to stop," Opal said, remembering the final battle.

"I wanted her to stop for _me_ ," Baatar said harshly. "I was a nonbender, and I was _doing_ something. I was changing the world. I stopped caring how I was changing it." Opal frowned, staring at her brother's broken posture. "And I loved her, Opal. But I didn't truly see her. So perhaps I never loved her at all." Opal and her brother had never gotten along too much when they were kids. They'd loved each other, but Opal had chalked up the slight distance between to them to their age difference. Now Opal realized it was because they were too similar.

Baatar turned to his sister. "Are you going to see her next?"

"Yeah," Opal said. "I've been putting it off long enough." She twisted her body, unsure about whether she should stay or go. "Do you want me to tell her anything from you?"

"I . . ." he trailed off. He frowned. "I never thought that she would surrender. Not after she tried to kill me. But she did, Mother told me Avatar's version of events of that night. If Avatar Korra really managed to stop Kuvira without killing her, then something's changed in her. Tell her . . . if she feels bad about me, then she should stop and devote her energy to the other people she hurt. I deserved what I got, and if she hadn't done it I still would never have changed my mind about what we were doing."

"Okay," Opal said, beginning to leave.

"Opal, you two were close when you were younger," Baatar spoke up. Opal paused. "She taught you how to dance."

"Yeah," Opal said. "A long time ago."

"Who was she to you?"

Opal didn't know how to qualify the way she felt about Kuvira, the way she had felt about her for years and the way she felt about her now. Opal had spent hours of her youth reading, dizzy with words, but there was no word to describe this, whatever it was. She was unsure whether she should tell Baatar the full extent of her and Kuvira's relationship, or that she had been pulled in by Kuvira's charismatic personality just as much as he had but still had managed to not hurt people on a wide scale. She was unsure if she should allow Kuvira, his ex-fiancée, to tell him what they had felt about each other.

"She was someone that made me feel heard," Opal shrugged. He nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: food mention, genocide mention


	39. Chapter Thirty-Seven

**175 AG**

After leaving her brother, Opal had gone outside and bought lunch. She sat outside the domes in the sunlight of Zaofu. It was fall now and the weather was getting colder. Not long now the vines in Republic City would become covered in snow; spirits and children playing winter games in the streets. She wondered briefly where she would be when the snow first fell as she finished her lunch and walked to the place she'd been avoiding for so long.

Kuvira's dome was slightly larger than Baatar's but other than that they were nearly identical. It looked just as alien as Baatar's, looming over the city, both parts oppressive and haggard. She waited for a moment outside, trying to enjoy the sound of music and smell of food that were wafting out of a nearby restaurant, but she had postponed this visit too long to wait anymore. Eventually, she screwed up the courage to enter the dome.

On her way up to Kuvira, Opal pulled at her nomad suit, full of nervous energy. Finally, after all the time between them, Opal would see Kuvira again. She looked up at the familiar wooden crate suspended above her head and stepped onto the elevator. When Kuvira came into view Opal found that she wasn't looking at her visitor. The elevator stopped with a click and hiss, and only then did Kuvira appear to notice her. She seemed distracted.

"Opal," Kuvira said, running her hand through her hair, voice faint with surprise. She cleared her throat. "I thought Baatar would visit me before you did." It was almost a joke.

"Baatar's still in prison," Opal replied. He was going to be released soon, and transferred to his aunt's care in Republic City, but at the moment it was still all in transition and many things were left undecided. Kuvira nodded, looking at the floor. Opal took the moment to quickly observe Kuvira. She seemed paler than she had been when Opal had last seen her; while she was not pale by any means her skin colour seemed muted, sickly.

She was dressed in a grey top and loose green pants; an outfit that seemed almost reminiscent of the clothes she would wear to dance years and years ago, she only lacked the binding around her wrists and arms. She seemed weaker now as well. As long as Opal had known her Kuvira had always been muscular for what was required to be a guard and from dancing. Her body had only become stronger when Opal had met her again as the Great Uniter.

Kuvira had flourished as the Earth Nation's leader, and only in the light of all that had changed could Opal see to how great an extent. Kuvira's body had become stronger than it ever had as Guard Captain, she had become an even more adept bender, and while Opal knew Kuvira had never actually been happy she had moved with a purpose. All of that had faded now.

"I wasn't sure," Kuvira spoke up, making eye contact with Opal for the first time. "Is he still angry?" Her deep voice was vulnerable somehow, tight with concern.

Opal massaged her left wrist with her other hand. "Can you blame him?" she asked.

"You're here," Kuvira said. "You have just as much as right to be angry. I tried to kill you. Multiple times." She winced.

"I am angry," Opal said evenly. It was strange, standing in front of Kuvira, knowing the full extent of what she had done. Last year Opal wouldn't have even looked at someone like Kuvira, as though she was frightened that their sins would taint her. She wouldn't have been able to be in the same room with a mass-murderer, but now Opal knew that it was something she had to do. "We were talking about my brother." Kuvira bit her lip.

"I didn't mean to hurt him. Baatar was the first person who ever understood me," she said, speaking as though she felt she owed Opal an explanation. "Or at least, I _thought_ so for a time. Now I think it was the Avatar. It doesn't really matter, I suppose. After you left me . . . I thought maybe I _could_ love him."

Opal had worried a little before arriving at the dome, before arriving to Zaofu, that she wouldn't know what to say to Kuvira, that all of Opal's feelings and intentions would evaporate when she arrived at the prison. Kuvira, though, seemed content enough to speak.

"Do you love him?" Opal asked. She didn't feel the burning need to know the answer like when she had asked it the first time. She wanted to know for Kuvira's benefit, not her own.

"I have a pretty twisted definition of love," Kuvira laughed sadly, pushing her hair out of her eyes. She had not put it back into its usual bun, or in a braid; she let it hang around her shoulders dark and limp. "I was never in love with him. Or anyone, for that matter. But I thought maybe I _could_ love him, and why not? As far as I knew he was the only one who cared about me and my goals, the only person who wouldn't turn on me."

"So the engagement . . ." Opal trailed off. She remembered meeting Kuvira in Yi, how shocked she had felt to learn of Kuvira and Bataar's relationship.

"Our marriage was to be political, of course, to make me seem less threatening to my dissenters. More," she laughed bitterly. _"Human._ We thought it might soften things with Suyin as well. It didn't, obviously. I thought for a long time that it was something spiteful in him that made him propose to me but that wasn't the only reason. He wanted a family."

"You were an orphan," Opal recalled. Kuvira nodded.

"I never had a family, not truly. And Baatar was a nonbending child in a Metal Clan, desperately trying to find approval in your family. Because of that, he never became able to express himself as an individual. Given a chance, he rejected your family altogether, signed on to follow me, and never questioned me. He was too weak to stand on his own."

Kuvira seemed to speak callously about her ex-fiancée but Opal could tell that Kuvira didn't mean to be cruel. She was still working through her feelings and understandings about the events that occurred, just like everyone else. She was angry with him. "He suggested we could find a family with each other, a real family, and then he proposed."

"Of course I didn't want family, I wanted - what you pointed out back in Zaofu. I wanted control," she said. "I wanted - to feel safe, to never be rejected again. All my life I've been the only person who's provided that for me. Baatar never betrayed me but for three years neither did Varrick or Zhu Li. But then he did," she continued, voice heavy with regret.

"What do you mean? Opal asked, sitting down on the floor of the platform, peering through the wooden bars that parted them. Kuvira was full of words, likely from the thoughts she hadn't been able to share with others.

"When I destroyed the building you all were in, it was after he tried to convince me to surrender," Kuvira explained. "I felt like he'd betrayed what we'd worked so hard to accomplish. I felt like he'd been lying to me for years - that he had _never_ believed in what we were doing, that he was only with me because he had feelings for me."

"I always thought he was using me, to get back at Suyin, and I was fine with that because in that case I was using him just as much. But him . . . being in love with me . . . it wasn't even that," she concluded angrily. "He was in love with an idea of me. If he truly loved me he would've let the Avatar take him wherever she pleased and let me unite the Empire. He didn't give a _shit_ about me."

"That's not true," Opal said. After her conversation with her brother she could tell that he _had_ loved Kuvira. Not in a good way, not in an honest way, but his emotions were as real as emotions could be.

"You cared more about me and _you_ tried to kill me," Kuvira said bitterly. "He only cared about his own feelings. Or at least, that's what was going through my mind when I destroyed the factory. I didn't want him. He didn't want me. We wanted what we could offer to each other, but I wanted to unite the Empire more, even if I was doing it for reasons that had nothing to do with the good of the people."

Opal nodded silently. Kuvira was laying herself completely bare to Opal. These concepts were new to the airbender, but the compassion Korra had shown Kuvira had found the honesty that Opal had been hunting for. Korra had ended the war and forced Kuvira to face responsibility for her actions. It was clear that her time in prison had given the metalbender time to reflect on what she had done, and why.

"I'm the - I _was_ the Great Uniter, Opal. That was all I was for years, and it's all I've ever wanted, to be powerful and _safe_ , but his feelings about me trumped that," she went on. "When the thought of never being with me again was a sufficient threat to make him give up on _all_ we had accomplished I thought, I thought he had never been interested in _any_ of it. That it had all been a sham; that he had never had any interest in my goals but rather he'd just wanted . . . me."

"I still feel like that a small part of that is true. He didn't surrender because he realized what we were doing was wrong. He felt like his feelings for me were more important than the lives of the people in the nation we were building, more important than the pain I'd felt when I was a child," she said, and her voice was bitter and sad.

Opal was quiet and Kuvira was angry, restless. Then her face lapsed into resignation and she murmured, "If Baatar is still angry with me, then I hope that someday he can forgive me so that he can move on from the pain I've caused him. But I - _I_ feel angry too. I hate what I've done but -" she cut herself off, voice becoming soft again. "Perhaps I led him on as well. When I got back from . . . us . . . there really was a brief time where I _wanted_ it."

"I wanted to marry him, to make a family as well as a nation, to forget you and all you represented," she said. "I wanted every bit of the security and loyalty he offered me. I see now that you cared a great deal more for me, in your own way. You expected me to be a better person, to see that I could stop and that I had crossed a line and that none of it was necessary anymore. He just wanted me, without even considering who I really was."

_"Please_ don't think that any of what I did to you was caring," Opal said. Opal had hit Kuvira, tried to kill her, had abandoned her time and time again. It wasn't a standard Kuvira should measure anyone to, no matter how skewed both of their perspectives on love was. "But, I think I see where you're coming from."

"Don't worry about hurting my feelings, Opal," Kuvira scoffed, pushing her hair behind her shoulder. "I would've killed everyone in Republic City if it meant conquering it, and I would have placed the blame on my victims for daring to fight back. I put people with non-Earth lineage in camps in my attempt to create a strong Earth Nation; I've destroyed so many lives. You hurting me doesn't erase what I've done to you, and to everyone else."

"I'm not saying that it does. I'm not saying that I forgive you for that, and even if I did it wouldn't be my place," Opal said. Kuvira glanced at her slowly. "I'm saying I understand you. I'm _trying_ to understand you." Kuvira looked away again, seeming unknowing what to make of the girl standing across from her on the outside of her cell. Opal would never have bothered to try to understand someone like Kuvira in the past. This was new, they both could feel it.

"I didn't lie to you when I said I wasn't in love with him," Kuvira said. "But of _course_ I loved him. He offered me something no one else ever did, but I couldn't stop then, not when I was so close to accomplishing my goal. While I never wanted to kill Baatar, I felt hurt and I felt like I had to. I wouldn't have hated him if he had done the same to me, but that doesn't matter."

"When he said he surrendered I realized that I was truly alone and always had been. I said that I loved him because I did. And then I let that go, for what was the greater good in my eyes, but for what was really just selfishness and desperation."

Kuvira bowed her head, her dark hair falling across her face as she spoke. "Bolin, Zhu Li, you . . . you all left me. Baatar would have stood by my side until the end, but he never stood for what I believed in. In that way, he was the worst betrayal. But . . . for three years he offered me support, and I did the same for him. Perhaps we thought that was love."

"It's for the best that he's become disillusioned," Kuvira said, looking up at Opal again and brushing the hair out of her eyes. Bravado still came easily to Kuvira, though there was a weariness in her demeanour that she could not hide. "I don't think I'll ever be capable of giving him what he wants, nor would I want to. I don't think either of us were ever ready to love each other in any real way. We just used each other."

"Do you think you could ever forgive him?" Opal asked.

"I don't think he'll ever realize that this is how I felt," she said. "He'll probably always feel on some level that I led him on and I feel the same. That's alright. I still care for him. I _want_ him to move on. He wasn't the cause for all this destruction, I want him to look forward. I want him to find family with someone who actually knows what it is, and how to give it to him."

Opal was silent for awhile. Kuvira's words rang truthful. Opal tried reconciling this moment with the . . . _hunger_ she had felt for Kuvira not even a year ago. A year ago Opal would've been relieved that the first person she'd ever felt anything for was not in love with her brother. Now, Opal just felt sad.

"Speaking of family," Kuvira spoke up awkwardly in Opal's silence. "Your mother has been visiting me." Opal was surprised. She smiled to herself; she was happy. "She didn't for the first few months but recently she started coming by to . . . speak with me a little."

"I knew she wanted to talk with you," Opal said, her relief making her sound a little triumphant. "She's angry with you, but she's also angry with herself. She feels guilty and gets mad at you because it's easier that way. Seeing you makes her feel like she was responsible for all this."

"Why would she be responsible for any of this?" Kuvira asked, confused. "I rejected my position as her protégé, I've done nothing these past few years but disobey Suyin and hurt her." It was true, but rationality rarely trumped emotion.

"She feels like she should've respected you more, and that she should've made more of an effort to make you feel like you were a part of Zaofu," Opal said. "I also think she feels uncomfortable with you because you did what she didn't want to do, enforced her values on the Earth Nation. You caused a lot of death, a lot of destruction. I think she doesn't want to think that her values were capable of that."

"Perhaps," Kuvira said, eyes falling to the floor, voice heavy. "But there was nothing she could have done to stop me, short of killing me. The only reason Korra defeated me was because without her I would've been destroyed by my own desperation and greed for power. The Avatar saved me from myself, and assured me that she'd fix my mistakes and bring balance back to the Earth Kingdom."

"Before that, I felt like the only options I had were succeeding or dying for my cause. Avatar Korra made me see that I was just as bad as the Earth Queen had been, _worse_ , but she also made me feel like she understood what I wanted to accomplish in the beginning, no matter how it was tainted by my own fears and insecurities, and that she would carry that out properly. I wouldn't have surrendered otherwise."

"Korra _has_ been restoring balance," Opal murmured softly. After the war, she and Asami had become closer and they exchanged letters often; even while Opal no longer resided in Republic City the nonbender always passed on good news to her friend. "She and her girlfriend have been fixing up Republic City, and the Air Nomads have been helping all around the Earth Nation."

"That's good," Kuvira said."If I had won I wouldn't have stopped. I would've made my Empire strong, on the backs of non-earthbenders, and then gone on to invade every other country because I thought if I could control everything, then no one would need to feel fear anymore. That _I_ would no longer feel fear. I didn't care about the pain I was causing because I was so obsessed with the pain _I_ felt." She tensed, angry. "They still tell stories about the previous Avatar's biggest enemy. I would have become him."

"I'm glad Korra stopped you," Opal murmured. Kuvira's words had chilled her, but she recognized the truth behind them. "And I'm glad mom is talking to you now." Regardless of Suyin's intentions or responsibilities, so much of Kuvira was tied to the Metal Clan Matriarch. Suyin and Kuvira both wanted a genuine relationship with each other, and Opal could see that they were both trying. "It's easier for my mother then it is for me to just forget the bad things people we care about have done, but I'd say she's probably holding you accountable for that."

Kuvira chuckled dryly, leaning her elbows on her knees as she quickly glanced around her prison. "You could say that," she said. She didn't seem resentful. She understood that she deserved punishment for what she'd done.

"But hurting someone who hurts you worse in an unrelated way doesn't cancel out the bad you've done," Opal said. "And ignoring problems doesn't make them go away . . . I've had to learn that this year, too." Kuvira looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. Opal shoved her hair behind her ear, feeling awkward. "If you wanted to know the reason why it took her so long to visit you, that's why."

"Why have you visited me?" Kuvira asked. "Or haven't." Both of those questions were valid. Opal hadn't been avoiding Kuvira for the same reason her mother was. Opal had owned up to her guilt, tried to take into account the areas where she was responsible and where she wasn't, and work with that. It had taken her a long time, and she was still not completely at home with the idea, to realize that goodness was not easy and that chasing that ideal could get you lost with mistakes.

"There were never prisons in Zaofu before you came along," Opal said. "I guess you know that, you were Guard Captain after all. My mom had seen enough of jails in Republic City and she hated the police which is why there are only guards in Zaofu and your only duty is to protect people from outsiders. When people commit a crime in Zaofu . . ."

"They're banished," Kuvira said. "I experienced that personally when I left Zaofu." Opal nodded. Suyin had exiled Kuvira as punishment and it was telling that now Suyin wouldn't let her leave.

"The only reason you're here now," Opal said. "Is the same reason you kept me prisoner on that train even when you knew I could escape. You wanted me to stand with you." Kuvira blinked, looking up at Opal, confused. "My mom doesn't want you gone; she wants to _forgive_ you and Baatar."

"She shouldn't forgive me," Kuvira said, shaking her head. "I haven't done anything to deserve it."

Opal bit her lip, finding the reason why she had come. "Do you know the reason we were able to beat you?" she asked.

"Hiroshi Sato," Kuvira replied, recalling the name of the man she'd murdered with ease. Opal nodded.

"He was a prisoner in Republic City." she explained. "Years ago, he tried to eliminate all benders by supplying technology to the Equalist rebels led by Amon."

"You mean Noatak, son of the crime lord Yakone," Kuvira said numbly.

"He was so caught up in his own agenda that he tried to murder his own daughter when she turned against him. When my aunt made the decision to release him from jail so that he could help us design technology to penetrate your mecha - he did something that changed the course of the war. Without him we wouldn't have stopped you." Kuvira flinched. Opal went on, "Korra was inspired by that. She released Zaheer."

Kuvira blinked, shocked; Opal knew she probably hated the man for what he'd done to the Earth Kingdom. "He's the most talented airbender alive today, and he's training talented airbenders at Air Temple Island," Opal explained. "He's teaching us how to f _ly."_ Kuvira looked at Opal silently.

"We haven't forgotten what he's done," Opal stressed. "He tortured and tried to kill Korra; he's still a prisoner. The fact that he killed the Earth Queen . . .  well . . . he was a criminal, and so was she. So was the person that my mother killed. Many of my enemies have died and I used to think that was alright because they were bad people."

"But what Korra did . . . she's the Avatar. She brings balance. She didn't want to live in a world that was so built on hate and suffering, on vengeance and revenge. Korra stopped it all that night in Republic City. She ended the bloodshed. She saw a better way, and it's -" Opal cut herself off, voice choking up. "It's _amazing_."

"Feeling bad about the way we've wronged others is worth little . . . but _helping_ , if the people we've wronged let us . . ." Opal trailed off. She didn't want to tell Kuvira what to do. She'd already made that mistake once before, and she knew now that it helped no one. Kuvira understood Opal's silence as an attempt to absolve her from all the pain she'd caused, and argued it.

"Opal, to this day I don't know how many people I've killed," Kuvira said, clearly uncomfortable trying to guess where Opal was leading their conversation. "I imprisoned innocents . . . I know I murdered Hiroshi Sato, and injured hundreds of people . . . if they had died, I wouldn't have cared. Many of them probably _did_ die in my attacks, not to mention the people who were hurt in my camps."

"Yeah," Opal said. "Many of them did." Kuvira had destroyed ships and guard towers full of military personnel, but she had also had killed many civilians in her time as the Great Uniter. Kuvira's reign had been a brutal dictatorship under the guise of rescue. Kuvira's face pinched up but she shoved her guilt away, refusing to give herself the luxury of pain.

"What I've done, Opal - I've destroyed so many lives. I told myself I was doing this because I wanted to bring peace and order to the Earth Nation, but I only ended up making everything worse," Kuvira went on. "I tried purging the States from non-earthbenders because of the unity I was seeking . . . justifying my actions by saying that non-earthbenders could be allowed to remain in my empire if they worked for the Earth Kingdom's prosperity. So I made re-education camps: labour camps, prison camps, to hold them as prisoners until they were ready to work for me freely or be exiled. I - I became a monster."

She looked at Opal, eyes shining with bewilderment. "Why . . ." she said. _"Why_ are you _here?"_

"You asked me a question once," Opal said, feeling self-conscious. "You asked me why I kissed you in Zaofu. I answered you the best I could, but I asked the same question of you and you never answered me." Kuvira said nothing; she didn't look at Opal. Opal swallowed and went on. "I guess I didn't think about why. Maybe neither of us did."

"Why do you think I kissed you?" Kuvira asked, glancing up at Opal. It was so true to their history, that they would keep dancing even now. It was so difficult for them to reconcile the gentleness and the violence in their relationship, but they pushed onwards now, they wanted answers.

"I think," Opal said. "I _think_ you kissed me just to get me to stay. At first because you wanted someone you trusted to give you the go-ahead for what you were doing, and then . . . because you just didn't want someone to leave you again."

Kuvira shifted in her seat, considering. She spoke after a moment. "I saw a lot of myself in you, Opal," Kuvira said. "But it's not that. I've been hearing those words a lot lately, and they're not always entirely truthful. Seeing yourself in someone is not necessarily who they are. I saw a lonely kid in Zaofu, a nonbender, someone who didn't fit quite so neatly in their home's ideals."

"I wasn't lonely," Opal asserted.

"Perhaps I saw more of me than I did of you," Kuvira said, leaning her chin on the tent of her hands. As for Kuvira's childhood, and Opal's lack of compassion there, Opal thought about it the way she thought about her mother abstaining from gathering the Earth Kingdom under control three years ago. If Opal had known, she would have behaved differently. But she hadn't known and neither she nor her mother held responsibility for the way things turned out. Still, they both could learn from this and try to make amends in whichever ways that they could.

"Who was I to you back in Zaofu?" Opal asked. She could finally see who Kuvira had been to her, and could see who Kuvira was with clearer eyes now. She had to know. Kuvira looked at her for a moment.

"You were someone too scared to dance. Knowing that you had a crush on me now, I hope I didn't prey on you, but I wanted to help. You were a good kid, and you had strong morals, and were nice to be around. I've destroyed so much this year, I don't know why I had to destroy that too."

" _We_ did that. I could've just been there for you but I was too wrapped up in my own feelings of desire and, and _righteousness,_ that I couldn't see why you thought you were doing a good thing," Opal said. "I can see why now. It doesn't mean that what you were doing was right, but I'm happy that I can understand. You wanted to make me feel . . . secure, the way you'd never felt."

"Of course Opal, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want you," Kuvira said, running her hands through her hair. "You're right, I did want to make you feel safe and cared for, not even recognizing that you already felt like that. But I didn't do all of this just because I wanted to make you feel protected. I wanted _you."_

"You're so righteous and dedicated and full of life. You always want to do the right thing and I _know_ you think you get carried away by it but that's what attracted me to you. When I met you again you'd changed so much; you were the same person but you were _bigger_ , more . . . you." The way she said it, so rough and honest and raw, made Opal's heart ache, but it was an old ache. "But yes . . . mostly I just wanted you at my side."

"I felt the same way," Opal blurted. Kuvira looked a little surprised. "But there were so many emotions I'd never dealt with and they just came - spitting out of me in the worst ways. You made me so happy when I was younger; you made me _proud_ to be myself. After all that's happened . . . can we ever go back to the way it used to be?"

She didn't feel guilty, but she felt regretful. Her feelings for Kuvira had obviously run deeper than she'd thought they had but she'd hated how they'd come out of her. Finally getting a chance to be with the woman she'd admired for so long, Opal had taken it regardless of any consequences. And that time with Kuvira had been dark and miserable and painful, just like the world had been, just like Kuvira had been.

But the world had changed now. Kuvira had changed by realizing the harm her actions had caused. But even after all the times they'd kissed and touched, it was those times in Zaofu that Opal missed the most. Those sweeter, more innocent times, when Kuvira was happy and not perfect, she'd never been perfect by any means Opal could see that now, but things weren't twisted and aching.

"Of course not," Kuvira said. "As much as I'd like to, I can't erase all that I've done." Things back then had been simple and clean and friendly. But then again she hadn't known about how Kuvira had been suffering, hadn't deciphered Kuvira's motivations.

"I guess I wouldn't want to go back anyway," Opal said. If anything at all had come from all of this pain it was that Opal and Kuvira were now on equal footing. Opal, through no fault of Kuvira's, had worshipped Kuvira in the past, which had only made Kuvira fall farther in Opal's eyes. Now Opal finally understood her. She couldn't ask for more than that. "But, together, we can go forwards."

"Together?" Kuvira asked dubiously.

"Yeah," Opal said. "If you'd like that." She ran her fingers through her hair. "For what it's worth," she began. "If you wanted to make me feel like I fit in somewhere, you did. You did help. And I learned a lot from . . . this, from us." She took a breath. This was difficult. She understood Kuvira now, but she wasn't sure that Kuvira understood her. "I kind of . . . thought I was perfect. Or actually, I thought I had to be.  I thought I had to be good . . ."

"You were good," Kuvira argued. "You _are_ good, Opal."

"Yeah I was, back when I didn't have a chance to prove it," Opal quirked a grin. "I thought that it was simple, and I thought that everyone that wasn't good was doing it on purpose because, because they were lazy or twisted and just - not worth my time. It wasn't even about them, I had to be good. Even if I wasn't talented, and a nonbender, than at least I was a good person. It's why anyone liked me, it's why you liked me." Kuvira didn't deny it. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"So I wrapped up all my self-esteem in being a good person," Opal said. "So when I saw you, when I saw anyone, doing things that were wrong, I didn't consider why. I couldn't. All I saw was you, Bolin, my brother, betraying the standards I'd set for you. And I didn't try to help you, though I thought I was. I tried to get you to see things my way, the right way, I never tried to understand things from your perspective."

"It took me a long time to see, and even longer to admit it to myself, that we all have the potential to mess up and that making mistakes is something unavoidable. We can think we're on the right side when we're not. Like Bolin. Like you. But it was a _coincidence_ that I was on the right side this time around," Opal caught Kuvira's glance. "And that's _terrifying_. I had no idea what you were doing when I met you in Yi, but I already had condemned you. It could've just as easily been the reverse, and I would've been so stuck up with my idea of how things should be that I wouldn't even consider alternatives," she said.

"You came after me," Kuvira argued. "You tried to make me see sense."

"I kept on coming after you to find out why you, someone I thought was perfect, could fall so far. I didn't understand how I could still care for someone who did terrible things, and there were so many things I didn't understand about how I felt about you," Opal said regretfully. "I only had to think back to who you were to figure out who you'd become, because it had always been there. I was just too self-absorbed to see."

"You couldn't have stopped me," Kuvira said. "I was like you, completely committed to my own goals and interests."

"Yeah, but you never treated me the way I treated you," Opal said. "When you didn't do what I wanted I treated you like trash. You may have wanted me on your side, wanted me romantically, wanted any of those things, but you weren't selfish like I was. I thought I was doing it all for you, and getting nothing for it return which just made me more angry, but actually I was just after you because of my own feelings."

"Maybe I couldn't have stopped you Kuvira, but I could've not - _hurt_ you. You've done terrible things, but I gave up on you before I learnt about them. And when I was with you, I was too busy exploring my feelings and pitying myself to try to understand you and help you. But I'd like to try now, if that's alright," she finally said. "As much for my sake as for yours."

"What do you mean?" Kuvira asked. She was confused. Opal could see how foreign it was to her, being treated with actual dedicated compassion. They were both strangers to this kind of situation, and Opal could feel how tricky navigating it was.

"Do you really regret what you've done?" Opal asked.

"Completely," Kuvira responded in a rough voice. "I did stabilize the Earth Nation to an extent . . .  but it was never truly about the Nation. That's why I kept on going on, imprisoning my own people, using slave labour to build weapons, trying to find stability for _myself_. I don't regret helping my people, back when I was actually helping, but it was all about me and I didn't even realize it."

"We're pretty similar in that way," Opal said. Kuvira smiled sadly at her. At least they were finally understanding each other. Opal cleared her throat. "It's a good outlook in theory - immediately removing people from your life when they don't live up to your standards."

"You shouldn't have to compromise yourself for others, Opal," Kuvira spoke up, her tone a little fierce.

"I still agree with that," Opal replied softly. "But in reality . . . people are people. The only you can do is help them when they make mistakes, and in a sense that was almost what I was doing - except it wasn't for you. I was doing it for me. I wanted you to be a good person again for _me_. I didn't care about what you were going through."

"It wouldn't have made a difference if you had," Kuvira reminded her. "I _still_ would have done all the things I did." Kuvira was probably right, but Opal still believed it was wrong of her. She wanted to change that aspect of herself. And, Opal was sure that Kuvira could change as well, even if she could never clean her hands of the blood she'd shed.

Kuvira went on, "At least you knew who I was, even if you hated it. Baatar idealized me. He betrayed what I thought of him and I lashed out. I did the same thing you did to me."

"And now you regret it," Opal said.

"There were so many things I could have done differently," Kuvira said. "But I made my choices. Now I just need to know that he's alright and that he doesn't entirely hate me." It was clear that Kuvira missed him, as hurt as she'd been by him. It was another thing that Opal had failed to pick up regarding Kuvira, how much her brother had meant to her. Opal had dismissed much of the relationship when Kuvira told her she wasn't in love with him but now Opal knew it was more complicated than that.

"He's all of those things," Opal said. "I think he gets where you're coming from now. If it makes you feel any better, he definitely won't idealize you anymore." Kuvira laughed a little.

"It's alright," she said softly. "Most relationships are like that. We decide what role we want people to play and then we get angry with them when they don't fulfill that role."

"Yeah," Opal said softly. "I definitely did that to you." Kuvira frowned. Opal could tell she wanted to argue. "I _idolized_ you. I thought you could do no wrong and when you did wrong I thought I lost you forever."

"I don't know how much of me you had to lose," Kuvira replied. "I still don't see why you're bothering with me now."

"Regardless of what you've done," Opal pressed on. "It was still wrong of me to treat you the way I did. I thought I was a good person, but I wasn't. So, I want to _change_." She remembered Bolin and clenched her fists, her nails digging into the meat of her palms. "And I think you can change as well, if you want to."

"How?" Kuvira asked. "I'm serving my time, bearing my punishment with as much grace as I can. What can I do?" Opal bit her tongue. She could tell Kuvira what to do, how to make up for some of the things she'd done, but it wasn't that easy and it wasn't Opal's place and as much as Opal wanted to have the high ground and ability to do so, she couldn't. Not anymore. She'd made that mistake before and she had to make up for it.

"What would you do if you could do anything now?" she asked instead.

Kuvira heaved a sigh and looked at her hands. "I'd help rebuild all that I destroyed, until everything has been restored or improved. I'd work to destroy any supremacist sentiment that remained in the Earth Kingdom because of my nationalism and insecurities. I'd make up for all my crimes, and truly help this nation not as a leader, not as someone with _any_ power but as someone . . . small.  Everything I did to help my people was actually about helping myself; if I could atone for that I would."

"Then _make_ that happen," Opal said, voice deep and fierce. Kuvira recoiled at the harshness of Opal's tone, and Opal's face softened when she saw Kuvira's surprise.

"I wanted to help in the first place," Kuvira said, sinking back. "Nothing I could do would ever bring back the lives I took away, but even if I was able to repair the Earth Nation I don't know if I could be _trusted_ with that opportunity."

"I'll let you know if you go too far, if you'll do the same for me," Opal said simply.

"What do you mean?" Kuvira asked.

"Kuvira, I don't know if you've forgotten, but I almost killed you," Opal said, almost laughing at how sad this was. "I get so carried away with what I think is right that I become . . . reckless. Since I was young I thought being a good person was something really easy so I was unforgiving towards people who weren't. I didn't realize that a lot of times you can think you're doing the right thing, when you're not. Especially when you get caught up in your own goals."

"None of this means that what you did is forgivable, or that the way I wronged you by treating you so cruelly is forgivable either. It just means that now I can see what I've done wrong, and I want to fix it, if I can," Opal said, stumbling over her words, trying to explain the revelation that had slowly become unravelled in her mind.

"Opal," Kuvira murmured. "You don't have to pretend the way you treated me is anything on the level of how I treated the nation I _claimed_ I was helping."

"I'm not," Opal said. "But I am saying that . . . I wasn't used to the idea of being wrong. I didn't think I could be. I reacted badly. I make mistakes but I don't like to acknowledge that, so I need someone who will. If you really want to help people I'll let you know when you're doing good and when you're doing bad because that's what I've always done . . ."

"But I'm not a perfect person. I nearly got Bolin killed by convincing him to 'win me back'. I completely disregarded your feelings and used you and didn't feel bad about it because I felt like you were a worse person then I was. I was so righteous that I didn't see the way I was hurting the people I cared about. Because of the time I spent with you I learned that what I was doing was messed up, and I want to atone for that. And if possible, I want you to be someone that can tell me to back down if I'm getting out of control."

Kuvira still seemed confused. She was silent for awhile, then looked at Opal with careful eyes. "You said to me once that you wanted to be my friend . . ." Opal bit her lip.

"I think what we had with each other was selfish," Opal murmured. "I think we just hurt each other. Neither of us were ready for a relationship with each other, and I don't know if we ever will be. But if you want to be friends . . . I think we could be good for each other." The expression on Kuvira's face, the gentle surprise, was beautiful and enough to make Opal's heart beat a little faster but that expression was more important than Opal's feelings.

"I came here to tell you that you're going to help rebuild Republic City," Opal said, smiling softly, feeling strange. Kuvira didn't react so Opal went on, "That's what all the Air Nomads are doing right now. Republic City suffered some of the worst most damage, so you'll be transferred there. You'll live as the United Republic's prisoner and be used to fix the city."

Kuvira said nothing for a moment. "Will they even let me?" she finally spoke up.

"I'm not making this up," Opal said. "And it's not like you would be a free citizen. But if you wanted to try to fix what you've destroyed, this is the way to do it."

"What about Baatar?" Kuvira asked.

"He's going to be helping with the designs of the new buildings," Opal said. "He's already started work in his cell. He's going to go to Republic City's prison soon, and work on designs for rebuilding it with Asami Sato."

Kuvira was speechless, so Opal went on. "Korra thinks that a world without redemption can never be a truly balanced world. Sometimes people do things that can never be forgiven, but we can always work to try to make up for our mistakes, and try to become better people."

"Instead of condemning each other, we can try to understand each other. That's the path Korra set out for the world and it's a path I want to follow. Even if you don't join me, I'm still going to try to make up for the ways I hurt you and others." Kuvira still looked like she couldn't believe it. Opal observed the metalbender quietly for awhile, letting her words settle."Do you think this could work for you?" she spoke up after awhile.

Kuvira blinked, dazed. "What?" she said. "Yes, of course. I . . . of course if I can atone I will. That world you described Opal . . ." she trailed off. Her eyes narrowed and she glanced at Opal, her gaze intense. "That path . . . is better than _anything_ I was trying to create. I . . . I'll never be able to deserve forgiveness, but I'll try to help in whatever way those I've harmed will let me."

"Yeah," Opal said. "Same here." Kuvira's eyes on Opal were inscrutable. "I'll let you think about it," Opal murmured, moving to leave. "It's not really in my control anyway, I just wanted to be the one to tell you . . ." she trailed off uncertainly.

"Thank you," Kuvira said, voice rough with gratitude.

Opal's throat ached with how much she'd spoken to Kuvira. She looked at the woman for a long time, sitting in her cell, body tense. Opal didn't know if Kuvira would be able to handle the task being presented to her, and she also didn't know if _she_ would be able to authentically try to become a better person and earn forgiveness from Kuvira, and herself, because of how she'd hurt her.

But Opal felt it, in every bone in her body. The willingness to try this, to try to find a place in the fiercely caring world the Avatar was creating. It was so strange. In the past, Opal had seen the world in black and white, and after being with Kuvira she'd begun to see it as shades of uncomfortable grey. But now, standing in a prison with Kuvira across from her, she saw that it was all just colours, blending and shining. And it was beautiful.

When Opal turned to leave she didn't look back at Kuvira. But there was a lightness in her step she couldn't ignore. "Good luck, Kuvira," she called behind her. "I love you," and she meant it with all her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: food mention, genocide mention


	40. #3: Rebuild

An epilogue of sorts. [Here it is on tumblr.](http://kuvopal.tumblr.com/post/106566958548/i-hope-kuvira-gets-a-chance-to-help-fix-what-she)

**175 AG**

 

* * *

 

 

Since I've never written a complete fanfiction, nevermind such a long one, I've got a lot of thoughts and feelings. Also, Legend of Korra ended and I'm not over that either. You can skip my ramble because at the end of it I thank everyone who supported this fanfiction. I made this story for me and didn't expect anyone to really care since this pairing is femslash and also a crackship. But people did care and that surprised me, inspired me, and humbled me.

First of all, as someone who's been in tons of fandoms with attractive, charismatic villians, just because you read this fanfiction and I've given Kuvira a redemption arc does not mean Kuvira has canonically done anything to deserve forgiveness. I bring this up because I _know_  some people will read a fanfiction where a villain gets a redemption arc and then forgive the villain in their mind. Don't do this! I know it's difficult to like a character that's done terrible things, but erasing their actions just to ease your mind is something that we should all try not to do (myself included).

I see too frequently people bending over backwards to forgive Kuvira for all she's done (imprisoning dissenters, being a mass-murderer, purging states of anyone without Earth Kingdom origins, etc) but we don't have that right. She destroyed many lives, and no motivation or justification makes anything what she did intrinsically forgivable. Many people think that Korra should devote herself to rehabilitating Korra, but Kuvira is not entitled to Korra's help or her energy. From a narrative point of view, if Kuvira is given a redemption arc it will be tied to Suyin Beifong, not Korra or even Opal (breaking my shipper heart, but it's true). Whether or not you believe that Suyin was a neglectful mother-figure for Kuvira (I do not), it's still clear that both Suyin and Kuvira wronged each other and will need to work through that hand in hand, something that turned out to be a theme in this fanfiction.

I'm just going to put it out there: Opal Beifong is my favourite character in Legend of Korra who isn't the title character. I realized as Book 4 went on that Opal was a character who (similar to me) was often righteous with too little facts. Because of her righteousness she hurt other people, including Kuvira. What she did to Kuvira in this story is nowhere near as bad as what Kuvira's did to Republic City and the rest of the Earth Nation in cannon. But Opal acknowledges, however, that she still has hurt someone and has decided to grow from that just as the Kuvira (in my story) has decided to repent for all the wrong she's done.

Legend of Korra's overarching theme of Korra's growth to someone less afraid and more compassionate really inspired me to bring these characters to a place where they would both be able to grow. I don't believe romance is usually a helpful thing for growth, which is why I'm so pleased that Korra and Asami only became romantically involved after providing each other with years of platonic support until they both were stronger and more secure people. Similarly, Opal and Kuvira need to work with each other in a platonic sense before they ever become romantically involved again, if they ever choose to.

Criticism of your favourite characters is a good thing. I've picked Opal Beifong apart for all her flaws and virtues, and she became an even more interesting character to me. Opal's behavior (telling her boyfriend to risk his life so that he could deserve her again) was something that fit within her characterization but is also something that will likely cause her to make painful mistakes in the future. It wasn't enough to look at Opal briefly and say 'What a strong, moral character!' without also realizing that, while this was what attracted me to her in the first place, it's something that would be considered a fatal flaw if Opal was a lead character (as she was in this story).

Identically with Kuvira, it's not enough to look at her and say 'She was an extremely frightened and insecure child and she hurt people because of the extremes she went to so she could provide the Earth Nation with the security she never felt when she was young'. You do not have to like characters without flaws, you don't have to erase or glorify those flaws, but when flaws exist - that's where growth can come in, and Legend of Korra is such a good example of that.

Korra's flaw was her fear, her fear of losing her Avatar abilities and her relevance. Because of this, she was extremely insecure and was unable to have the confidence to win any battle on her own terms until Book 4 where she not only stopped her enemy but was able to show her compassion and save her life. Zaheer hurting Korra to the extent that he did forced her to see her worst fear realized. When Korra's bending was taken away in Book 1 she was devastated for the same reason she was devastated at the end of Book 3, but the situation was rectified by Aang the first time it happened. Korra was forced to heal through the trauma of Book 3 unlike in the previous seasons.

But, years passed, time went on. Korra physically healed patiently, and sometimes, impatiently. But it wasn't enough for her to simply be able to fight and bend again. Korra also had to be able to reconnect with her friends, with herself, and with the spirits, healing mentally and emotionally, before she was able to find balance. She found meaning in the suffering she underwent and used it as a tool to help her grow into the kind of person she wanted to be. She came head on with her fear of what it means to be the Avatar and came out of it as a stronger, more fully-realized person.

I couldn't have imagined such a beautiful ending of Legend of Korra. Just as Korra was able to come face to face with her own fears and stop them from hindering her, I wanted to write a story where Opal was able to find a balance between righteousness and ruthlessness, and a story where Kuvira would be able to find a balance between helping herself and helping others. Just as the series ends on a note of hopefulness, on a story of doors wide open and adventures to be had and places to explore, I want to end 'Destruct' similarly. Destruction is not necessarily the end, it is simply change.

Now that that's out of the way, I'd really like to thank everyone who left comments even when they knew I probably wouldn't reply. Thanks matrix365, [ziiek](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ziiek/pseuds/ziiek), Alyse, Cesare Blanc, Wan, Kel, Jel, Jane, [Revatron](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Revatron/pseuds/Revatron), [tonksremus](http://archiveofourown.org/users/tonksremus/pseuds/tonksremus), [PaulPheonix10](http://archiveofourown.org/users/PaulPhoenix10/pseuds/PaulPhoenix10), Clo, [Hetynne](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Hetynne/pseuds/Hetynne), SSPolarStar, [Revatron](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Revatron/pseuds/Revatron), loneliesthintheworld, Mag_Max_Kuv_Bigotes, ClearlyD, [immopengu](http://archiveofourown.org/users/immopengu/pseuds/immopengu), [HiddenScars](http://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenScars/pseuds/HiddenScars), wholy devoted fan, [zirasael](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ziraseal/pseuds/ziraseal), [NeoKenshi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/NeoKenshi/pseuds/NeoKenshi), [mimisimo_leto](http://archiveofourown.org/users/mimisimo_leto/pseuds/mimisimo_leto), CKC, [dsm75](http://archiveofourown.org/users/dsm75/pseuds/dsm75), [immopengu](http://archiveofourown.org/users/immopengu/pseuds/immopengu), [NeoKenshi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/NeoKenshi/pseuds/NeoKenshi), and [codeyellow97](http://archiveofourown.org/users/codeyellow97/pseuds/codeyellow97), to name a few of them! I appreciate all of you. And of course thanks to everybody who left this story kudos!

I'd also like to thank [sable](http://t-m-a-q.tumblr.com/) (your early comments really encouraged me and you're cool) and Lee (I always felt like you understood what I was trying to convey in the story). [Gaguilar001](http://archiveofourown.org/users/gaguilar001/pseuds/gaguilar001)'s multiple comments of 'I just want them to be happy' always made me laugh. Comments where people tried to predict what was going to happen, and thought critically about character interactions and symbolism, always made me feel really flattered.

With that thought, I'd like to thank [kenziegirl113](http://archiveofourown.org/users/kenziegirl113/pseuds/kenziegirl113), [DeviantNomad](http://archiveofourown.org/users/DeviantNomad/pseuds/DeviantNomad), Lee, and [sable](http://t-m-a-q.tumblr.com/) for thinking critically about Opal and Kuvira's relationship and what I was writing and what it all meant. It's not because I don't appreciate and love every comment I get even if it's just a phrase or a word, but it's really humbling when people bother to think about what you've written and let you know their thoughts. I _also_ loved comments where people said that they'd mix up Destruct headcannons in Legend of Korra haha. Do it. I know _I'm_ pretending that this happened instead of Bopal.

I'd also like to thank [KaleidoscopeKreation](http://archiveofourown.org/users/KaleidoscopeKreation/pseuds/KaleidoscopeKreation) and [DeviantNomad](http://archiveofourown.org/users/DeviantNomad/pseuds/DeviantNomad) for pointing out inconsistencies and when things got repetitive! It's really appreciated! Another thing that I appreciated was people reblogging my [update posts](http://opalkuvira.tumblr.com/tagged/destruct) on tumblr, and I'd really like to single out [coolcantthinkofausername](http://coolcantthinkofausername.tumblr.com/) who, since the beginning, I could count on to like and reblog those posts, and who always had an encouraging comment in the tags. Thanks!

I've had people talk to me on my [Opal/Kuvira archive blog](opalkuvira.tumblr.com) (yes, there's a blog out there that has a link to all the fanart and fanfiction, you're welcome) and say that they didn't want to leave rambly comments on this fanfiction because my fanfiction was somehow 'too good' for their comments. People liking your story enough to exert energy on interacting with you is always a fantastic compliment, so don't feel intimidated by writers or stories! Every comment and message is appreciated.

And I'd like to thank _you_ , whether you started reading this at the very beginning or if you've picked up this fanfiction years later after finally getting around to watching or rewatching Book 4 and thinking, _'Hmm, you know what, Opal's expression when Kuvira puts her hand on her shoulder is pretty intriguing, I wonder if there's fanfiction."_  Keep supporting femslash and stories about women! You're backing the winning horse!

If you want to keep tabs on me check out [my art blog](http://februyuri.tumblr.com/).

If you guys have any questions, please comment and I'll respond to them now that the story is over! Thanks!

Edit 01/02/17: this was written in a more naive time. Kuvira's a fascist, fuck fascists.


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